(NewsNation) — The idea of the traditional family with a male breadwinner has been held up as ideal, especially among the baby boomer generation. But new research shows that reality hasn’t necessarily matched up with the nostalgic ideal.
In a study published in “Socius,” researchers at Penn State and Ohio University found that just 41% of baby boomer men had high, continuous employment during their prime earning years. The majority of men studied had periods of unemployment, intermittent work or spent time out of the labor market for personal reasons.
The findings run contrary to the stereotype of a society where men serve as breadwinners for the family, holding steady jobs until retirement.
Previous research has shown unemployment can have serious health impacts, in part because those who are unemployed may not have as much access to health care through employer-sponsored health insurance plans.
The study examined a group of more than 4,000 men born between 1957 and 1964. Researchers measured workforce participation every two years between 1984 and 2021.
Of the men studied, 41% had a steady trajectory in the workforce, while 25% had periods of unemployment or out of the labor force early in their careers which were followed by steady work. Thirteen percent of the men began with steady employment, followed by unsteady work and 21% of men had precarious employment, characterized by periods of intermittent work or early exits from work.
Researchers noted that changes in the labor market may have contributed, including increases in involuntary part-time work, risks of job loss, a decline of good jobs, less unionization and fewer health benefits at work and recent recessions.
The findings could suggest employers need to reward workers at a rate where people are less like to leave, researchers suggested.
The researchers are hoping to examine labor market precarity in future studies, with a focus on labor market policies that could lead to higher unemployment.