1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain stuff, 2 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:10,880 Speaker 1: it's Christian Seger. Many. People have had a job that 3 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: makes them miserable. Maybe the hours are erratic or long, 4 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,160 Speaker 1: the work soul crushing, the employer thankless, or the pay 5 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: is just dismal. But still that's better than sitting at 6 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 1: home with no pay at all. Right, Well maybe not, 7 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: according to a new study out of the University of Manchester. 8 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: Prior research has found that unemployment is linked to health 9 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: risks like smoking and depression, and is even associated with 10 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:42,080 Speaker 1: higher mortality rates, and getting a job after being unemployed 11 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 1: has been shown to have positive effects on health and 12 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: quality of life. Yet, the authors of the current study 13 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 1: found that people who were previously unemployed and moved into 14 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: poor quality jobs, those with low pay, low job satisfaction, 15 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 1: low job stability, and high job anxiety did not see 16 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: improvements in health or lower levels of stress compared to 17 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 1: those who stayed unemployed. The researchers used data on one thousand, 18 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: one hundred and sixteen British adults from Understanding Society, a 19 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 1: longitudinal study on life in the UK. They found that 20 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: transitioning into a good job was associated with improved mental health, 21 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:31,040 Speaker 1: as compared to staying unemployed. Mental health was the same 22 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 1: for those who got a poor quality job and those 23 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: who remained jobless. But here's the surprising finding. By analyzing 24 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,680 Speaker 1: levels of stress through hormones and other biomarkers like blood 25 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 1: pressure and cholesterol, the researchers determined that working a bad 26 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 1: job was associated with higher levels of chronic stress indicators 27 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: than remaining unemployed. The researchers even pointed out that these 28 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: biomarkers can be present before overt symptoms of ill health 29 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: actually manifest, so it's possible that people's self report better 30 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: health perceptions than the markers would actually indicate. This result 31 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:15,919 Speaker 1: is unexpected considering many people may assume that any job 32 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: is better than no job. The researchers don't say that 33 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: unemployed folks should just sit and wait for the perfect job, 34 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:27,079 Speaker 1: though being unemployed can present huge mental health challenges and 35 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 1: can even adversely affect some cultural groups more than others. 36 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 1: The researchers suggest people use their findings about the adverse 37 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:40,800 Speaker 1: health effects of poor jobs to work with their employers 38 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: and doctors to ensure a healthier working environment. Today's episode 39 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: was written by Kate Kirshner, produced by Dylan Fagan, and 40 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: for more on this and other topics, please visit us 41 00:02:55,760 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: at how stuff works dot com.