A new GLO Discussion Paper finds that employees with a temporary contract experience more loneliness at work as opposed to employees with a permanent contract. It also reveals that loneliness at work mediates the association between working temporarily and job satisfaction.

The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 437, 2019

Does loneliness lurk in temp work? Exploring the associations between temporary employment, loneliness at work and job satisfaction –  Download PDF
by Moens, Eline & Baert, Stijn & Verhofstadt, Elsy & Van Ootegem, Luc

GLO Fellow Stijn Baert

Author Abstract: This research contributes to the limited literature concerning the determinants of loneliness at work, as well as to the literature on psychological outcomes associated with temporary work. More specifically, we are adding to the literature by exploring whether there is an association between working temporarily and loneliness at work and whether loneliness at work partly explains the association between working temporarily and job satisfaction. To this end, we analyze—by means of a mediation model—a unique sample of Flemish employees in the private sector. We find that employees with a temporary contract experience more loneliness at work as opposed to employees with a permanent contract. In addition, we discover that loneliness at work mediates the association between working temporarily and job satisfaction.

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers). Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

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