A longitudinal study of the impact of changes in the job and the expenses scandal on UK national politicians’ experiences of work, stress and the home-work interface

Weinberg, A

Abstract

Longitudinal cohorts drawn from a sample of 136 UK MPs responded to surveys assessing the impact of work-related changes over which they had either a higher or lower level of control – namely working hours reform and the expenses crisis respectively. Their psychological health, experiences managing the interface between work and home and aspects of functioning at work were assessed. The findings highlighted the mixed impact of working hours reform on MPs, linked to the distance of their constituencies from Westminster. Politicians’ psychological strain was found to be related to feedback they received on work-based decisions and pressure they experienced balancing work and home life. The highly negative impact of the expenses affair on MPs’ psychological health and their attitudes towards work was confirmed and relationships highlighted between psychological strain and their ability to function effectively. The relevance of levels of control over work-based events to politicians’ mental health is discussed.

Citation

Weinberg, A. (2013). A longitudinal study of the impact of changes in the job and the expenses scandal on UK national politicians’ experiences of work, stress and the home-work interface. Parliamentary Affairs, 68(2), 248-271. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gst013

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Jul 9, 2013
• Publication Date: Jul 9, 2013
• Deposit Date: Jun 1, 2016
• Journal: Parliamentary Affairs
• Print ISSN: 0031-2290
• Electronic ISSN: 1460-2482
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Volume: 68
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 248-271
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gst013
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pa/gst013
• Related Public URLs: http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/