The health risks of flexible work and the buffering effect of medical security
10.3969/j.issn.1674-2982.2025.10.007
- VernacularTitle:弹性工作的健康风险及医疗保障的缓冲作用
- Author:
Hui-ying WANG
1
;
Min CHEN
1
Author Information
1. 首都经济贸易大学劳动经济学院 北京 100070
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Health risk;
Flexible work;
Basic medical insurance
- From:
Chinese Journal of Health Policy
2025;18(10):49-57
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
To investigate the impact of flexible work on the health of Chinese workers and its underlying mechanisms,as well as to examine the moderating role of basic medical insurance and minimum wage policies,this study uses two waves of panel data from the China Family Panel Studies(CFPS)in 2020 and 2022.It constructs a two-way fixed effects model to test the influence of flexible work on workers'physical and mental health.The results show that flexible work significantly reduces workers'physical health levels,while its impact on mental health fails to pass the significance test.Flexible work exerts negative effects on physical health mainly by blurring the work-family boundary and triggering the income penalty effect.Such negative impacts are more prominent among specific groups of workers,including males,middle-aged and elderly individuals,those with lower educational levels,formal employees,and workers with fixed workplaces.Urban Employee Medical Insurance,Urban-Rural Resident Basic Medical Insurance,and the minimum wage system can effectively mitigate the negative health impacts of flexible work.Therefore,efforts should be made to expand the coverage of medical insurance and set reasonable minimum wage standards,so as to build a more health-inclusive flexible work environment.
