CSRDA Discussion Paper Series

No. 99 Nonstandard Workers’ Subjective Social Status: Examining the Mechanisms of Reference Groups and Status Comparisons
Rantaro Nasu
Rantaro NasuThe University of Tokyo
Non-standard WorkSubjective Social StatusReference Group
Goal 1: No PovertyGoal 3: Good Health and Well-BeingGoal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
National Survey of Social Stratification and Social Mobility, 2015

This paper examines the impact of nonstandard employment on subjective social status from the perspective of status comparison with standard workers. Previous studies have indicated that nonstandard workers generally report lower subjective social status than their standard worker counterparts do, and this disparity persists even after accounting for socioeconomic factors such as income. However, these earlier studies have overlooked the role of status comparison mechanisms, which are crucial in shaping subjective social status. To address this gap, this study investigates the influence of reference groups on the relationship between nonstandard work and subjective social status using data from the "National Survey of Social Stratification and Social Mobility” (SSM) conducted in 2015. Specifically, the effect of the presence of others with higher status within the reference group on one's subjective social status is tested, with standard workers in the same workplace assumed to be the reference group. The findings are as follows. First, the subjective social status of male nonstandard workers increases as the proportion of standard workers in the same workplace increases. Second, no such effect is observed for female nonstandard workers, whose subjective social status appears to be unaffected by the proportion of standard workers. These results suggest the existence of status integration within the reference group for men.