State Welfare Provisions and Cross-National Differences in Work Quality and Job Satisfaction

Jonathan H. Westover, Utah Valley University

Abstract

Scholars are increasingly recognizing that overall job satisfaction/job quality assessments are embedded in a context that is far wider than any particular place of employment or employer. Accordingly, one new area of research revolves around the role played by the state. One aspect of the state that is arguably at the heart of providing a context for worker satisfaction is welfare state provisions. This article explores how the comparative welfare state literature might bear upon ongoing job satisfaction research, first identifying and explaining the foundations of the comparative welfare state literature, and then updating it to reflect key changes in social welfare provisions since Epsing-Anderson’s (1990) and Huber and Stephens’ (2001) seminal works. Finally, this article identifies which social welfare provisions will be most relevant to worker satisfaction and should be considered in ongoing research efforts.