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Sociology
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What Makes Young Adults Happy? Employment and Non-work as Determinants of Life Satisfaction

Nabil Khattab

University of Bristol, nabil.khattab{at}bristol.ac.uk

Steve Fenton

University of Bristol, steve.fenton{at}bristol.ac.uk

Durkheim and subsequent commentators have argued for the`benign' influence of work and employment in modern life. Contemporary patterns of work and employment are thought to be fragmented and precarious and thus alienating and demoralizing — and this runs largely, but not wholly, counter to Durkheim's prognosis. If employment may be integrative or demoralizing, this raises the question of `are employment factors key determinants of life satisfaction?'We explore data on 1100 young adults to test the relationship between employment variables, non-employment variables and life satisfaction. Employment-related variables are significantly related to Life Satisfaction (LS) as are non-employment variables (social relations, home satisfaction). Crucially, the influence of all variables on LS is mediated by `sense of life control', and patterns for young men and women differ significantly, suggesting divergent valuation of work and home. Regression models uncover, with some precision, direct and indirect relationships between independent variables and Life Satisfaction.

Key Words: employment • gender • life control • life satisfaction • non-work

Sociology, Vol. 43, No. 1, 11-26 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0038038508099095
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