Domestic workers usually perform manual work in households. Unlike fixed work, their work tends to be individualized and atomized. Their person-job fit and relationship with employers might exert some influence on their health, both physical and psychological. This quantitative study explores the association between person-job fit, health status, and depressive symptoms among Chinese domestic workers by identifying the employer-employee relationship as a mediator. Data is collected from a survey of Chinese domestic workers conducted in four cities of Nanjing, Wuxi, Guangzhou, and Foshan (N = 1,003) in 2019. We test our theoretical model by conducting structural equation modeling. The results show that demand-ability fit is indirectly related to heath status and depressive symptoms via the employer-employee relationship. Need-supply fit is significantly associated with health status and depressive symptoms both directly (70% for health status and 72% for depressive symptoms, separately) and indirectly, via the mediating effect of the employer-employee relationship (30% for health and 28% for depressive symptoms, separately). Our findings suggest that appropriate policy and vocational training should be implemented to improve the health status of Chinese domestic workers.
Keywords: depressive symptoms; domestic workers; health status; mediating effect; person–job fit.
Copyright © 2022 Chen, Jilili, Wang, Liu and Yang.