Is There A Relationship between Obesity and Job Satisfaction?; A Study of 23,000 UK Workers

Abstract

Introduction: Recent literature suggests a strong relationship between having obesity and reporting poor labour market outcomes. However, there is no quantitative evidence of a relationship between obesity and job satisfaction in the UK. Project aim: Investigate whether obese workers report less job satisfaction than workers with healthy weight in the UK. Methods: 23,438 employed adults (mean age 42 years, 50% female) were selected from the first wave of UK Household Longitudinal Study UKHLS (years 2009–2019). Body mass index (BMI) was calculated based on self-reported height and weight status at wave 1 and divided in to 4 categories: healthy-weight, overweight, obese and severely obese. Job satisfaction was self- reported at wave 1 and in 8 follow-up waves on a 7-point ordinal scale (from completely dissatisfied to completely satisfied). Ordered logistic regression was used to investigate job satisfaction against the four weight categories. Secondary analyses focused on the temporal nature of the relationship, including by splitting BMI into height and weight. Results: Around 54% of the participants were overweight obese or severely obese and 3,496 (15%) of them reported being completely, mostly or somewhat dissatisfied with their job. Results showed a significant negative relationship between obesity and job satisfaction, with obese workers being less satisfied about their jobs compared to healthy weight peers (-0.069, 95%CI= -0.138, -0.001). The secondary analyses confirmed our main findings. Conclusion: Our study suggest that obesity may play a noticeable role in reporting poor job satisfaction and may support policy intervention in the UK labour market.