His Precarity, Her Burden? Gendered Spill-overs of Job Precarity on Subjective Well-being among Chinese Couples

In recent decades, work and family life have become increasingly intertwined. Work not only affects individual well-being but also spills over to one’s partner through family dynamics. As the global labor market undergoes rapid flexibilization, the consequences of job precarity for couples’ subjective well-being remain understudied compared to other employment statuses. This research gap is particularly salient in China, where entrenched traditional gender norms may be disproportionately exposing women to the adverse impact of precarious employment. Therefore, in China’s complex context of market economy development and the preservation of patriarchal tradition, this study engages with ongoing debates between gender-neutral resource-based perspective and gender-based perspective.

Drawing on a nationally representative sample of working-age couples from the China Family Panel Studies (2014–2022), this study examines how job precarity influences married individuals’ subjective well-being and how these effects spill over to their partners. This study employs generalized structural equation modeling (GSEM) within the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) framework to analyze more than 18,000 couples through a dyadic lens. We conceptualize job precarity through two dimensions (1) manifest precarity (lack of contract or insurance) and latent precarity (atypical working hours), capturing both visible and hidden forms of employment precarity.

Results reveal distinct gendered patterns in manifest and latent precarity dimensions. Manifest precarity demonstrates a gender-neutral pattern, equally affecting both spouses’ own and their partners’ subjective well-being. In contrast, latent precarity exhibits gendered asymmetries. Men’s atypical working hours affect both their own and their wives’ subjective well-being, reflecting traditional male breadwinning roles. Whereas women’s employment precarity primarily affects their own well-being, underscoring gendered norms that compartmentalize their economic vulnerabilities as individualized challenges. Latent precarity is not only a personal stressor but also a gendered relational phenomenon shaped by entrenched gender roles. These findings demonstrate that while a gender-neutral perspective explains manifest precarity’s effects, a gender-based perspective is important in understanding latent precarity’s relational consequences. The study advances existing literature by revealing how different precarity dimensions operate through distinct gendered mechanisms within couples.