Job Mobility and Subjective Well-Being among New-Generation Migrant Workers in China: The Mediating Role of Interpersonal Trust

Abstract

New-generation migrant workers refers to those born in 1980 or thereafter, who become the majority of rural–urban migrants. New-generation migrant workers in Chinese cities are struggling with a lack of urban resources, which may lead to low well-being. On the basis of a questionnaire survey of 203 new-generation migrant workers, we used a multiple regression analysis to study new-generation migrant workers’ well-being and the mechanism underlying the effect of job mobility on well-being. The job mobility scale, interpersonal trust scale, and Affect Balance Scale were used. Results showed that job mobility was positively correlated with new-generation migrant workers’ subjective well-being and interpersonal trust, and interpersonal trust was positively correlated with subjective well-being. Interpersonal trust mediated the effect of job mobility on subjective well-being. In conclusion, job mobility can bring some benefits to new-generation migrant workers, that is, job mobility may increase their subjective well-being by increasing their interpersonal trust.