The influence of the social network on the health of people with a low socioeconomic status

Abstract

People with a low socioeconomic status bear higher health risks, become ill more often and die earlier (Klärner et al. 2020). In particular, the negative impact of unemployment on health has been confirmed in many studies. Comparatively few studies deal with the influence of the social network on health. While the social network can reduce the negative effects of, for example, unemployment, not every form of social support or social contact contributes to soften negative health effects (Vonneilich 2020). In the SNF project "Aging workforce and simple work" (Amstutz/Geisen/Kraus), it is shown that employees in simple work often experience health problems with increasing age due to physically and mentally demanding activities. At the same time, it is often difficult for these employees to build up a stable social network due to irregular working hours, rather low earnings, partly low German language skills and because especially older employees lack the energy to pursue a regular hobby or to maintain social contacts (outside of the company or family) after the physically tiring work. In the context of this project, my PhD deals with the role of the social network of employees in simple work. In the presentation, on the one hand, the state of research on the influence of the social network on the health of persons in a low socioeconomic status is outlined and, on the other hand, explanatory models for this are presented. In addition, first results from the interviews on the connection between health and social network of employees in simple work will be presented.