Lone mothers may have several difficulties taking up employment,
especially if they live in a country where parents receive little support
to reconcile work and family life. Under such circumstances, is it better
to work in order to raise one’s income, even if life is more stressful, or
to withdraw from the labour force? What is the association between
employment and health? This is the question raised by Emanuela
Struffolino, Laura Bernardi and Marieke Voorpostel in the particular
context of Switzerland, where mothers of young children, whatever
their conjugal status, are not encouraged by the government to
work full-time. Using data from the Swiss Household Panel, the
authors analyse the relationship between self-reported health and
full-time or part-time working for lone mothers relative to mothers
in couples, by the level of education. They highlight the higher risk of
poor self-reported health for lone mothers compared with mothers
in a couple, especially for those in small part-time jobs.