Health, Wellbeing and Social Support in the Groups of Employed and Unemployed in a Finnish Community

factor in explaining the association between self-rated health and subjective well-being.
THEORETICAL BASE: We test whether social support reduces the negative effects of impaired
health on well-being. Hence, we analysed whether the groups of employed and unemployed are
different in terms of how they each benefit from receiving social support. METHODS: The study
is based on a survey conducted in 2016. The data consist of 841 respondents from which 732 had
the labour market status of employed people and 109 had the labour market status of unemployed
people. OUTCOMES: Labour market status is a significant factor in explaining the association
between self-rated health and subjective well-being. Unemployed people with a low health status
had a much lower rating with respect to subjective well-being compared to employed people with
a similar low-rated health situation. There is a greater reduction in the impact of negative factors
on subjective well-being via social support in the group of employed people. SOCIAL WORK
IMPLICATIONS: The findings suggest that disadvantaged people should have been offered
intensified services. From a policy perspective, the findings suggest a need for close cooperation
between health, labour and social services.