Zitatform

Giuliani, Giovanni Amerigo & Rebecca Paraciani (2026): Contextualizing inequalities in the gig economy: evidence from online cleaning platforms in five European cities. In: The international journal of sociology and social policy, Jg. 46, H. 5-6, S. 736-755. DOI:10.1108/ijssp-12-2024-0619

Abstract

"Purpose: This paper explores the impact of national contexts on the profile of workers in the gig economy, with a specific focus on online cleaning platforms. The study aims to understand how national contexts influence the gender and ethnic composition of workers on domestic cleaning platforms, examining the intersectional effects of gender and ethnicity in platform-based work. Design/methodology/approach: Focusing on the case of the Yoopies platform operating in five Western European cities – Berlin, Copenhagen, Paris, Rome and Stockholm – this exploratory research is based on an original dataset that combines platform-based data directly collected from Yoopies with national-level data provided by Eurostat. Hypotheses were tested using simple correlation analysis to assess cross-country differences. Findings: The study shows that national contexts play an important role in shaping the gender and ethnic composition of workers on online cleaning platforms. Specifically, it identifies how structural features of the offline labor market influence the gendering and racialization of these platforms, highlighting variations across countries. The research also finds evidence of intersectional effects, where gender and ethnicity intersect to shape the profile of platform workers. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the growing literature on domestic work in the digital platform economy by providing a comparative perspective on cross-country differences in the composition of the platform workforce. It highlights the importance of national offline labor market characteristics in contributing to shaping platform-mediated work and provides new insights into the intersectionality of gender, ethnicity, and work in the gig economy. The findings contribute to both platform economy research and labor market studies, offering implications for policy and future research on the dynamics of digital work." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Emerald Group) ((en))

Zitatform

Herman, Eva, Gail Hebson & Jill Rubery (2026): From Precarious Work to Precarious Lives: Managing and Navigating Uncertainty at the Intersections of Employment, Households and the State. In: Work, Employment and Society, Jg. 40, H. 1, S. 45-66. DOI:10.1177/09500170251359125

Abstract

"This article investigates the intersection between precarious work and precarious lives through interviews with workers in the care, hospitality and art sectors. These revealed that workers experienced precarity as a double-edged sword of time and income uncertainty shaped by the context in which they were embedded – namely their employment, their household and their relations with state welfare and care systems. These three domains shaped both the constraints they faced and the buffers and resources available to them as they managed these time and income uncertainties. A dynamic work–life articulation framework is developed that embeds the strategies workers deploy to mitigate uncertainty within these three domains and their intersections. These strategies may still only result in the least bad and often far from sustainable outcome due to changing contexts and trade-offs between time and income uncertainty." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Laliotis, Ioannis & Christos A. Makridis (2026): Les Misérables? Labour Market Outcomes Among Artists in Europe. (CESifo working paper 12483), München, 60 S.

Abstract

"This paper documents the labour market position of artists across Europe and examines how it co-varies with public cultural spending. Using EU-LFS micro-data for 2009-2023, we compare artists to non-artists using harmonised measures of wage rank, employment, and non-standard work. Using within-country variation and controlling for demographic factors, artists rank substantially lower in the wage distribution: in the pooled sample, the estimated penalty is about 0.46 wage deciles relative to other salaried workers and about 0.28 deciles relative to other professionals. These earnings gaps coexist with higher exposure to non-standard employment, including part-time work, temporary contracts, and multiple job holding, with patterns that persist over the life cycle and appear in most countries. We then link individual outcomes to a country-year panel of real per capita public expenditure on cultural services. Higher cultural spending is associated with modest improvements in aggregate employment and lower part-time incidence, but these associations do not systematically differ for artists or arts graduates. The only consistent differential correlation is an increase in multiple job holding among arts graduates in higher-spending environments. Thus, changes in aggregate cultural spending are not sufficient on their own to narrow wage or job-quality gaps for artists, motivating a rethinking of cultural policy instruments toward mechanisms that more directly address labour market risks faced by cultural workers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Maffie, Michael David & Hector Hurtado (2026): The Enshittification of Work: Platform Decay and Labour Conditions in the Gig Economy. In: BJIR, Jg. 64, H. 1, S. 5-20. DOI:10.1111/bjir.70004

Abstract

"This study investigates the mechanisms by which gig platforms degrade labor conditions over time, building on the concept of platform decay, or ‘enshittification’, initially developed in the context of social media platforms. In this article, we draw on 30 interviews with long-term gig workers in the ride-hail and grocery delivery sectors, offering insights into how these companies shift from offering attractive working conditions to exploiting labor as these services develop market power via network effects. We identify three mechanisms through which gig companies claw back value from workers over time: burden shifting (transferring operational costs to workers), feature addition and alteration (increasing the demands on workers), and market manipulation (reducing worker bargaining power). We then explore how workers respond to platform decay, finding that workers adopt three responses: effort recalibration , multi-homing and navigating the changing conditions through what we term toxic resilience . This study contributes to the gig work literature by developing a framework to explain how working conditions in the gig economy improve or degrade over time. In doing so, this article provides a framework for organizing the growing constellation of labour research on gig workers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

Zitatform

Pignolo, Loïc (2026): A “catalogue” for clients: domestic labour platforms, informality and (in)visibility. In: The international journal of sociology and social policy, Jg. 46, H. 5-6, S. 623-637. DOI:10.1108/ijssp-01-2025-0079

Abstract

"Purpose: Based on a study of digital platforms for domestic services in French-speaking Switzerland, this article seeks to analyse how the (in)visibility provided by platforms is perceived and made use of by employers and workers, with the aim of bringing to the fore the experiences of clients and comparing them with those of workers. Design/methodology/approach: The article is based on a study that combines interviews with employers, workers and managers (25 in total), along with an analysis of platform interfaces and documentation. For the purpose of this article, I particularly draw on interviews with employers and workers. Findings: My findings show that the (in)visibility created by platforms increases clients ’ agency to the point of creating a “catalogue effect”, enabling employers to find in the same organised place a variety of profiles and options from which to choose when purchasing domestic services or defining working arrangements. This organised place gathers and organises information in a way that encourages comparisons and the expression of preferences and bias on the part of clients, and, while accentuating the commodification of domestic services, forces workers to make an effort to raise their individual visibility. Moreover, most of these platforms reproduce informal economic exchanges while attenuating the negative effects of informality for employers and shifting most of the consequences of informality onto workers. While informality does create a feeling of insecurity in some cases for both employers and workers, it additionally heightens vulnerability for the latter, which extends from the first meeting to the actual employment relationship. Originality/value: The perspective of employers or clients using domestic-labour platforms is rarely investigated. By analysing how employers make use of and perceive domestic-labour platforms, and how these differ from workers’ experience, this article provides insights into the ways in which the different shades of (in)visibility are produced and maintained." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Emerald Group) ((en))

Zitatform

Veen, Alex, Tom Barratt, Caleb Goods & Marian Baird (2026): ‘Woeful Pay, But Still, I Enjoy It’: Refining Subjective Job Quality in Ride‐Share Work. In: New Technology, Work and Employment, Jg. 41, H. 1, S. 15-26. DOI:10.1111/ntwe.70001

Abstract

"Workers who experience structural barriers in the labor market are overrepresented in the gig economy. There is limited research on how the broader context of labor markets and welfare systems shapes workers' motivations for, and subjective understandings of, ride-share work. Using established concepts of ‘constrained agency ’, ‘labor market objectives’ and ‘life stories’ from labor geography, this study develops a conceptual framework to advance subjective understandings of job quality. Drawing upon 59 interviews with workers from three distinct but overlapping disadvantaged groups (workers with disability, caring responsibilities and/or aged 45 and over), we focus on the experiences of and motivations for the work on a market-leading platform in Australia. Our findings highlight that subjective job quality perceptions are a complex mesh of individual circumstances and multi-layered social structures. Our framework helps to better understand why the work organisation and technology of the platform are valued by some yet loathed by others." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Aronsson, Amanda E., Emelie Thern, Nuria Matilla-Santander, Signild Kvart, Julio C. Hernando-Rodriguez, Kathryn Badarin, Mireia Julià, Samira Alfayumi-Zeadna, Virginia Gunn, Bertina Kreshpaj, Carles Muntaner, Theo Bodin & Lluís Mangot-Sala (2025): Parental precarious employment and the mental health of adolescents: a Swedish registry study. In: Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health, Jg. 51, H. 2, S. 59-67. DOI:10.5271/sjweh.4210

Abstract

"This study investigates the association between parental precarious employment (PE) and the mental health of their adolescent children, with a particular focus on how the association differs based on whether the mother or father is in PE. This register-based study used the Swedish Work, Illness, and Labor-market Participation (SWIP) cohort. A sample of 117 437 children aged 16 years at baseline (2005) were followed up until 2009 (the year they turned 20). A multidimensional construct of PE (SWE-ROPE 2.0) was used to classify parental employment as either precarious, substandard or standard. The outcome, adolescents’ mental disorders, wasmeasured as a diagnosis of a mental disorder using ICD-10 codes or by prescribed psychotropic drugs using ATC codes. Crude and adjusted Cox regression models produced hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) to estimate the association between parental PE and adolescents’mental health. Adolescents with parents in PE exhibited a higher risk of developing mental disorders. The association was more pronounced for paternal PE (HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.10–1.35) compared to maternal PE (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.00–1.21). These associations largely persisted after adjusting for important confounders, including parental mental health. This study addresses a significant gap in the literature on parental PE and adolescents’ mental health. As PE is growing more common across countries, this study provides relevant insights into the intergenerational role that parental low-quality employment may have in terms of mental health within families." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Bruns, Angela, Hilary Wething & Heather D. Hill (2025): Making low-wage work and family fit: perceptions and strategies among working families. In: Community, work & family, S. 1-22. DOI:10.1080/13668803.2025.2505719

Abstract

"Workplaces have changed dramatically over the past 50 years. Jobs have become more precarious, particularly for workers at the bottom of the income and occupational distributions, and this shift has created new challenges for balancing work and family roles. Previous research suggests that precarious work can make it difficult for families to manage childcare and schedule family time, but questions remain about the subjective experiences and perspectives of workers in low-wage jobs juggling work and family responsibilities. Using a work-family fit and balance perspective, which emphasizes individuals’ subjective appraisals of the work-family interface, and data from three waves of in-depth interviews with 50 workers earning low-wages, we document the demands and resources (at work and at home) that are most salient as they make subjective appraisals of work-family fit and the strategies they use to reduce perceived misfit. Our results highlight workers’ agency amidst a series of constrained choices. Workers in our sample were exceptionally skilled at making precarity work for their families but not without considerable labor and additional sacrifices." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Chadambuka, Cyndirela, Prossy Kiddu Namyalo, Rhea Raghunauth, Navya Arora, Fiona Kouyoumdjian & Beverley M. Essue (2025): Precarious employment and gender-based violence against migrant women. A scoping review mapping the intersections. In: PLoS ONE, Jg. 20, H. 12. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0337690

Abstract

"The risk of gender-based violence (GBV) against migrant women is largely exacerbated by precarious employment opportunities available to them as they go through the resettlement process. Despite the risk that the connection of precarious employment and GBV pose to migrant women’s health and wellbeing, critical gaps exist in literature. Our scoping review sought to identify and synthesize evidence on the interconnectedness of GBV and precarious employment among migrant women. Six electronic databases were searched for empirical literature and two reviewers independently conducted title/abstract and full text screening of studies that met the inclusion criteria. Data synthesis was guided by the intersectionality theory and the Feminist Political Economy framework. 50 articles met the criteria for inclusion in this review. Our findings reveal that precarious employment plays both a catalytic and consequential role in GBV. Findings highlighted how post-migration shifts in gender roles, schedule unpredictability leading to work-life imbalance, and debt bondage trap migrant women in cycles of exploitation and abuse. Few studies highlighted how human trafficking is intertwined with precarious labor markets, where the exploitation and abuse of migrant women mirror the characteristics of human trafficking. This review underscores the urgent need for integrated policy responses that are not only focused on individual supports but also address the structural drivers or labor precarity and protect migrant women from GBV and human trafficking. By applying an intersectional lens, policies and intervention programs can tackle systemic oppression across economic, and social systems essential in reducing exploitation and abuse to advance migrant women’s wellbeing." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Daly, Mary (Hrsg.) (2025): Families, Welfare States and Resilience. Low-Resource Families Navigating Care, Employment and Welfare in Europe. Boca Raton: Elgar, 213 S. DOI:10.4337/9781035346769

Abstract

"This pioneering book critically reviews and develops the concept of resilience in relation to family life. It examines the experiences of low-resourced families in Belgium, Croatia, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, assessing how they manage challenges such as low income and poor working conditions whilst also caring for children and others needing care. It considers the resources that are available to families, how they are utilised and the role and effectiveness of the welfare state system in supporting families with low resources." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Elgar) ((en))

Zitatform

García-Catena, Diana, Anastasios Hadjisolomou & Dennis Nickson (2025): Affective labour, blurred work–leisure boundaries, and intensity of exploitation in the hospitality sector. In: The sociological review, S. 1-23. DOI:10.1177/00380261251391544

Abstract

"This article contributes to ongoing debates about the nature and boundaries of work in the post-Fordist economy. It examines the dynamic interplay between affective labour practices, workers’ subjectivity and exploitation. Drawing on 36 in-depth semi-structured interviews with front-of-house hospitality workers in Spain, it proposes a framework that distinguishes between different levels of affective labour, based on workers’ self-investment, and their perception of the boundaries between work and leisure. It argues that workers’ self-investment in customer service is closely linked to howthese boundaries are experienced, shaped and negotiated through affective labour practices. Such practices include having intimate conversations and sharing consumption experiences with customers outside of working hours and beyond the workplace. These practices are commonplace within Spain’s informal and non-standardised hospitality sector, blurring the boundaries between work and leisure while extending the scope of workers’ roles and productive time. While these practices contribute to the production of affective atmospheres and generate surplus value, they are not recognised or rewarded as labour as they are perceived as leisure activities. This results in subtle and often overlooked forms of exploitation. Our framework sheds light on how the boundaries of service are socially defined within the employee–employer–customer triad and how this relates to the intensity of exploitation in a service sector where the boundaries between work and non-work are unclear. Without clear boundaries, workers must negotiate how much of their personal qualities, abilities and spare time they are willing to invest." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Gatskova, Kseniia, Michal Pilc & Maciej Beresewicz (2025): Feeling disadvantaged? Type of employment contract and political attitudes. In: Socio-economic review, Jg. 23, H. 2, S. 787-811., 2024-02-05. DOI:10.1093/ser/mwae011

Abstract

"We tested the theory of relative deprivation in the context of the Polish labour market during the post-crisis period from 2009 to 2015. This period witnessed the highest incidence of temporary contracts in the European Union, providing novel evidence on the causal relationship between the type of employment contract and political attitudes. Our findings suggest that temporary workers are more supportive of income redistribution but less supportive of democracy. Additionally, a shift from permanent to temporary contracts among prime-aged employees leads to a decrease in their support for democracy. Although this effect is modest in magnitude, the article points to an important mechanism influencing shifts in political attitudes. Our findings suggest that the effect of temporary employment on political attitudes is more pronounced among socio-demographic groups less accustomed to unstable employment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Oxford Academic) ((en))

Zitatform

Gibilisco, Saro, Monica Budowski & Andreas Hadjar (2025): The Activating Welfare State and Precarisation: a Temporal Analysis of the Perceived Unemployment Risk in Switzerland, 1999–2019. In: Work, Employment and Society, Jg. 39, H. 6, S. 1513-1536. DOI:10.1177/09500170251361817

Abstract

"Existing research predominantly examines precarisation processes within the framework of the welfare state crisis. This study diverges from this conventional practice as it explores precarization in terms of a product of welfare state intervention. Specifically, the main argument is that welfare state interventions towards individual responsibility and activation centre on precarisation as a governance principle. Through a temporal examination of the perceived risk of unemployment – a key aspectof precarisation in the labour market – utilizing data from the Swiss Household Panel spanning 1999 to 2019, the study reveals a growing prevalence of the perceived risk of unemployment within the group of individuals in more privileged employment arrangements, notably stable and full-time contracts. Results suggest that precarisation is diffusing into segments of society considered secure and protected by the welfare state. This seems to be closely linked to the new activation mode of welfare state intervention." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Gonos, George (2025): The Expanding Domains of Degraded Work in the United States: Constructing a More Comprehensive Typology of Non-standard Employment Arrangements. In: Critical Sociology, Jg. 51, H. 7-8, S. 1383-1406. DOI:10.1177/08969205241283938

Abstract

"The spread of non-standard employment (NSE) is widely considered to have contributed to the deterioration of labor standards. Yet, in the United States, there is no definitive roster of non-standard work arrangements and no reliable estimate of the size of the non-standard workforce. For over 25 years, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has produced artificially low estimates of employers’ use of ‘alternative employment arrangements’. Its 2018 Contingent Work Supplement (CWS) reported that since 1995 the proportion of US workers in these arrangements had declined. This article proposes a more systematic framework for understanding NSE in the United States and fleshes out a more comprehensive typology better suited toward addressing the needs of policymakers and labor activists. It fundamentally reorients the study of NSE by recognizing that so-called ‘alternative’ arrangements are abusive and more aptly understood as degraded work arrangements (DWAs). The article then explores the key categories of DWAs and provides a deeper analysis of one group, dissociative arrangements, that enable the flourishing use of ‘non-employee’ workers. Concluding sections address the undertheorized state of this subject area and the challenge of union organizing in fractured labor markets." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Griesbach, Kathleen (2025): Space and Inequality in Precarious Work: Thinking With and Beyond Platforms. In: Sociology Compass, Jg. 19, H. 3. DOI:10.1111/soc4.70026

Abstract

"Platform-based gig work illustrates a broader erosion of the spatial boundaries of work. While geographers have long theorized space as an integral part of capitalist work processes and social life, sociological research has often treated space as a backdrop for work processes rather than an active process shaping the social world, contemporary work, inequality, and resistance. However, important work in urban and rural sociology emphasizes the central role place plays in social life and inequality. This review synthesizes insights on space, place, and inequality and identifies key spatial continuities between platform labor and other forms of precarious work. I find common throughlines across disciplines: the intertwining of space, place, and social relations and the relevance of space and place for understanding inequality. Next, I relate spatial theories of capitalist development to contemporary precarious work. Finally, I suggest 3 promising avenues for incorporating space into research on contemporary work and inequality today: analyzing how existing inequalities intersect with the spatial features of new and enduring work structures; examining how contemporary work processes are reshaping rural and urban geographies; and identifying the spatial practices of contemporary organizing and resistance." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

Zitatform

Griffy, Benjamin, Adrian Masters & Kai You (2025): Unemployment insurance and job polarization. In: Labour Economics, Jg. 93. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2025.102690

Abstract

"This paper considers how the structure of the UI system interacts with the observed profile of separations to generate “job-polarization” – wage and separation rate persistence. We extend a standard on-the-job labor search model to include an initial period of high separation rates until the job stochastically becomes more stable. Meanwhile a worker’s UI entitlement varies in generosity (based on their former wage) and duration (based on their employment history). The separation structure means that some workers have extended periods of frequent job loss. The UI system amplifies these effects because workers with low benefit eligibility apply for low wage jobs. Their subsequent applications then leave them more highly susceptible to future job loss. Our calibration suggests that this effect accounts for around 1% lower lifetime average wages." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.) ((en))

Zitatform

Guo, Ya, Sizhan Cui, Zhuofei Lu & Senhu Wang (2025): Dependence and Precarity in the Gig Economy: A Longitudinal Analysis of Platform Work and Mental Distress. In: The British journal of sociology, Jg. 76, H. 5, S. 1169-1187. DOI:10.1111/1468-4446.70028

Abstract

"While there is a growing body of literature examining platform dependence and its implications for mental health, much of the research has focused on gig workers with small sample sizes. The lack of large-scale quantitative research, particularly using longitudinal representative data, limits a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic relationship between platform dependence and mental distress. This study uses nationally representative data from the UK and fixed effects models to explore the heterogeneity of gig work, specifically examining differences in mental distress between high-dependence workers (those solely engaged in gig work) and low-dependence workers (those also employed in other jobs). The findings reveal that high-dependence gig workers have greater mental distress compared to low-dependence and full-time workers, with their mental well-being similar to those with no paid work. Low-dependence gig workers have lower mental distress than those without paid work. Financial precarity and loneliness partly explain these differences, with the impact stronger for highly educated high-dependence workers and less educated low-dependence workers. These findings highlight the significance of recognizing the heterogeneity of gig work in addressing future well-being challenges in a post-pandemic economy, as well as broadening the scope of the latent deprivation model to encompass the unique dynamics of gig work." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

Zitatform

Healy, Joshua & Andreas Pekarek (2025): The triangular relationship in platform gig work: Consumers, platform beneficence and worker vulnerability. In: New Technology, Work and Employment, Jg. 40, H. 2, S. 265-284. DOI:10.1111/ntwe.12310

Abstract

"Platform gig work is created and contested in dynamic, triangular relationships between platforms, workers, and consumers. Compared with the first two groups, however, evidence about the role of the third - consumers - is sparse. In this paper, we investigate consumers' changing perceptions of work in the platform gig economy and argue that their perspective warrants greater attention in sociological analyses. Using data from two Australian public opinion surveys conducted 5 years apart (2017 and 2022), we explore how consumers' views of platform gig work evolved during a period of rapid change that includes the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that while overall platform use increased markedly, many consumers felt conflicted about gig workers' conditions and key features of platforms' typical labour practices. There is a pronounced, enduring, and consequential tension in consumers' views of the merits and drawbacks of this work; between, on the one hand, an acceptance that platforms do benefit workers to some extent and, on the other hand, misgivings about workers' vulnerability to harm. In centring consumers, our paper empirically enriches current triangular conceptions of labour relations in the platform gig economy, by showing how consumers mediate the interests of platforms and workers, to shape how gig work manifests and who benefits from it. We also contribute useful new practical knowledge, by elucidating the prevailing concerns of consumers that could be developed into resonant themes for campaigns aimed at improving platform gig workers' rights." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Iglesias-Rios, Lisbeth, Kexin Li, Alexis J. Handal & Lu Wang (2025): Precarious work and chronic disease: lessons learned from the US national agricultural worker survey (1999–2020). In: Frontiers in Public Health, Jg. 13. DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2025.1651197

Abstract

"Background: Precarious employment and labor exploitation in farmworkers is historical and pervasive in the United States. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from the National Agricultural Worker Survey (1999–2020, NAWS) among 46,910 farmworkers. A multidimensional precarious employment score (PES) was developed using work indicators and cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Analysis included: (1) Poisson regression model with LASSO for key predictor selection across three health outcomes; (2) PES construction to track employment conditions over time; and (3) subgroups analyses to assess disparities and trends in employment precarity. Results: Women showed no reduction in PES over time. Indigenous farmworkers [mean (M ) = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.50 to 0.53; difference from reference (δ M ) = 0.07, 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.08] and those working with labor contractors (M = 0.5, 95% CI: 0.48 to 0.52; δ M = 0.05, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.07) showed a consistently higher PES, but their declines [Indigenous: change (Δ M ) = −0.05, 95% CI: −0.09 to 0; labor contractors: Δ M = −0.08, 95% CI: −0.12 to −0.05) were smaller. Conclusions: Within this precarious workforce there were differences in PES and chronic disease. Biosocial data is needed to better understand the pathways of how precarious employment impacts the health of this workforce." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Jankowski, Krzysztof Z. (2025): Everyday Life Within Precarious Working Conditions: A Conceptual Home for the Practical, Subjective and Emotional Actions of Precariousness. In: Sociology Compass, Jg. 19, H. 11. DOI:10.1111/soc4.70130

Abstract

"The visceral, experiential and productive doing of precariousness is currently scattered without a conceptual home. Extended and qualitative accounts of precariousness describe practical, subjective and emotional actions of living with vulnerability that are not extraordinary but make-up everyday precarity. However, the precarity conceptual family is divided between either structural or differential vulnerability, leaving little room for the ongoing actions of being precarious. In response, I recover the term precarious working, which is often used but without full dissection, as a home for the analysis of the everyday actions within precarious working conditions. Precarious working exists in parallel to precarious working conditions, and together the two are the motions of precarity. The significance of precarious working lies in two domains: the interplay of objective and subjective insecurity and the substantiation of precarity. Precarious working highlights the individual acts of endurance, advantage and autonomy that interrelate with objective insecurity. Although unlikely to overcome the structural, these acts remain the visceral, experiential and productive substantiation of precarity. The concept helps to overcome the condition of precariousness as a mere outcome by highlighting the practical and active nature of the inequalities that precarity describes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

Zitatform

Keth, Nele, Freya Köster, Christian Kolbe & Tanja Oberfell (2025): Facetten prekarisierter Arbeit. Zwischen Teilhabe und sozialer Ausschließung. (Schriftenreihe des ISR - "Institut für Stadt- und Regionalentwicklung" der Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences 13), Idstein: Schulz-Kirchner Verlag GmbH, 115 S.

Abstract

"Die Grundlagen dieses Essaybands entstanden im Rahmen der Zusammenarbeit mit der LAG Arbeit Hessen. Die Texte verstehen sich als betroffenenorientierte Beiträge an der Schnittstelle zwischen Wissenschaft und politischem Aktivismus. Im Spannungsfeld zwischen Arbeitsmarkt und Armut greifen sie Entwicklungen auf, durch die besonders für vulnerable gesellschaftliche Gruppen verschiedene Herrschaftsverhältnisse drastisch ausschließend erlebbar werden. Prekarisierung findet sich hier facettenreich als Abhängigkeits- oder Ausbeutungsverhältnis, als eingeschränkte Möglichkeit bei der Teilhabe am sozialen Sicherungssystem und nicht zuletzt als Verkomplizierung/Verunmöglichung des Zugangs zu einem existenzsichernden Arbeitsmarkt. Dabei reflektieren und kritisieren die Beiträge, wie Ausschließung auf dem Arbeitsmarkt im Zusammenwirken kapitalistischen Wirtschaftens und staatlicher Regulierung organisiert wird, und skizzieren, wie Arbeit auch anders gelesen werden könnte." (Verlagsangaben, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Klaus, Dominik, Maddalena Lamura, Marcel Bilger & Barbara Haas (2025): Support and employment preferences in online platform work. A cluster analysis of German-speaking workers. In: International Journal of Social Welfare, Jg. 34, H. 1, S. e12659. DOI:10.1111/ijsw.12659

Abstract

"Online platform work is an emerging field of non-standard employment. Up to now, there has been little knowledge of the perspective of online platform workers on social protection and regulation. We provide quantitative data (n = 1727) on their needs for support and on their employment status preferences. Given the heterogeneity of German-speaking online platform workers, we have conducted a cluster analysis to group workers according to task length, hourly wage, working hours and experience on online platforms. Most of the respondents are solo-self-employed and hybrid workers. They prefer support instruments that improve their skills and income over those that aim to strengthen their rights. The majority of platform workers are in favour of working outside of platforms. The study also shows that despite the low dependence on platform income, the actual poverty risk is relatively high." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

Zitatform

Lu, Qianyi Sinyee & Kevin Leicht (2025): Low-Waged Hourly Employment as a Form of Precarious Work: Racial and Ethnic Disparity and Its Implications. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 180, H. 3, S. 1765-1795. DOI:10.1007/s11205-025-03725-4

Abstract

"While research on non-standard scheduling has grown in recent decades, less attention has been paid to its broader category—precarious hourly employment. Utilizing longitudinal U.S. Current Population Survey data (2017–2024), this study investigates racial and ethnic disparities in exposure to low-waged hourly work, the mechanisms behind these disparities, and their financial impacts. We find that workers of color, except Asians, are at heightened risk of low-waged hourly employment. A large proportion of this disparity remains unexplained by our models, suggesting underlying discrimination or structural inequalities, with some variation by race and gender. Among the mediated/indirect effects, underrepresentation in college degree holders and managerial/professional roles explain most of the disparity. Our counterfactual causal estimation also demonstrates that precarious hourly employment significantly reduces compensable work hours and earnings per hour, thus potentially affecting nonwhite workers disproportionately and exacerbating racial inequalities in the workplace." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Maestripieri, Lara, Alba Lanau, Roger Soler‐i‐Martí & Míriam Acebillo‐Baqué (2025): Intertwined precariousness and precarity: Disentangling a phenomenon that characterises Spanish youth. In: International Journal of Social Welfare, Jg. 34, H. 1, S. e12709. DOI:10.1111/ijsw.12709

Abstract

"The growth of non-standard employment has emerged as a crucial factor that contributes to delays and difficulties in young people's transitions to adulthood. Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of multidimensional measures of precariousness. This paper aims to investigate the phenomenon of precariousness holistically, using an original database of respondents in Spain from 20 to 34 years of age. Using a mixed-methods approach, we explore young people's understandings of precariousness and examine its key determinants and consequences. The findings illustrate the multidimensional nature of feelings of precariousness, with economic insecurity and work conditions being core elements. Our results point to precarity stemming from a combination of inextricably intertwined objective and subjective components, as well as work and economic dimensions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Molitor, Friederike (2025): Work arrangements in digitally mediated care and domestic work. In: Community, work & family, S. 1-20. DOI:10.1080/13668803.2025.2523863

Abstract

"As the need for care has grown, paid care and domestic work in the private home is increasingly being organized on the market. Today, digital platforms serve as intermediaries for care and domestic services but systematic research on the resulting work arrangements between workers and clients remains limited. By understanding platform-mediated care and domestic work arrangements as a (social) exchange of ‘love and money’ between workers and clients, the study explores the working conditions and the worker-client relationships that emerge. Drawing on unique survey data collected on a large digital platform in Germany in 2019, the study shows that care and domestic workers who offer their services on digital platforms often experience informal work arrangements characterized by low working hours and irregular shifts. The worker-client relationships are described as amicable more than professional. They are often built on continuity, long-termism and reliability, which are essential for a lasting relationship. This challenges the on-demand, economic logic characterising other forms of platform work." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Pacitti, Aaron, Michael Cauvel & Makala Greene (2025): Why are there so many bad jobs? The role of bargaining power and structural change. In: Competition and Change, S. 1-19. DOI:10.1177/10245294251371760

Abstract

"Since 1979, the share of good jobs in the U.S. economy decreased from 32% to 26%. We argue this has been caused by structural changes—declining union membership and institutional changes in labor markets; deindustrialization; globalization; automation; financialization; and rising market concentration and monopsony power in labor markets—that have depressed workers’ bargaining power, as measured by the cost of job loss. We define a quality job as one that pays above the real median wage for men in 1979, and provides employer-sponsored health insurance and pension benefits. Using Census Bureau data, we observe a decline in job quality across our 1979–2022 sample period. Our regression analysis suggests that changes in workers bargaining power and labor market policy, proxied by the real minimum wage, explain this dynamic." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Palenga-Möllenbeck, Ewa & Roxana Fiebig-Spindler (2025): Emerging home care markets in Central and Eastern Europe: Transformations of senior care, labour mobility, and housing in Poland and Germany. In: Berliner Journal für Soziologie, Jg. 35, H. 3/4, S. 549-564. DOI:10.1007/s11609-025-00579-y

Abstract

"Angesichts der aktuellen demografischen, politischen und sozialen Entwicklungen und angetrieben durch wirtschaftliche Ungleichheiten wächst die Nachfrage nach transnationaler Altenpflege. Der Beitrag befasst sich mit der zentralen Rolle der transnationalen Vermittlungsagenturen, die Live-in-Pflege vor allem aus Polen nach Deutschland und zunehmend auch für den wachsenden Pflegemarkt in Polen anbieten. Erstens untersucht der Artikel auf der Makroebene die politische Dimension dieser Vermittlung und ihre Einbettung in die jeweiligen Wohlfahrtsstaaten (Care‑, Migrations- und Arbeitsmarkregime), in denen Pflege vor allem zu Hause und von (migrantischen) Frauen geleistet wird. Dabei wird die Wohnsituation als eine zusätzliche, analytisch relevante Dimension der Organisation von Pflege einbezogen. Zweitens richtet sich der Blick auf die Mesoebene dieser Vermittlungspraxis, indem erörtert wird, wie sich Polen von einem Auswanderungsland zunehmend zum Transit- und Einwanderungsland für Care-Arbeiter*innen wandelt und wie Vermarktlichung, Korporatisierung, Transnationalisierung und digitale Transformation Care-Arbeit, Migration und deren beider Organisation verändern. Drittens wird auf der Mikroebene analysiert, wie sich die transnationale Live-in-Arbeit zwischen zwei Haushalten auf die Arbeitsbedingungen, die eigene (Selbst‑)Sorge und die Wohnsituation der Live-in-Pflegekräfte auswirkt: Sowohl die familialistische Pflegepolitik in Polen als auch die Erbringung von Pflegearbeit im Haushalt einer pflegebedürftigen Person in Deutschland haben ihre eigenen Anforderungen, die kaum miteinander in Einklang gebracht werden können. Die transnationale politische Ökonomie der Care-Arbeit und des Wohnens erfordert daher empirisch fundierte Antworten dazu, wer die Debatten und Regelungen zur (migrantischen) häuslichen Pflege in diesem (trans)nationalen Raum wie mitgestaltet und wie das Spannungsverhältnis zwischen fairer und umfassender (Selbst‑)Pflege und gewinnorientierter Pflege aufgelöst werden kann." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Vanderleyden, Julie & Deborah De Moortel (2025): Employment Quality as a Framework to Understand Precarious Employment and Beyond in Cross‐National Contexts: Conceptual, Methodological, and Practical Recommendations. In: Sociology Compass, Jg. 19, H. 7. DOI:10.1111/soc4.70083

Abstract

"Precarious employment is a growing global concern. However, what constitutes or is perceived as precarious employment varies significantly across regions, particularly between the Global North and Global South. We propose the multidimensional Employment Quality (EQ) framework as a heuristic tool to explore the variety in EQ patterns from a cross-national comparative perspective. This framework, which incorporates a typological analytical approach, enables the exploration of diverse patterns and combinations of (in)secure employment features across the workforce. By doing so the full range of employment arrangements is captured, from highly secure to precarious, while also accounting for “mixed” forms. Yet, comparing the prevalence and forms of EQ globally presents significant conceptual, methodological, and data-related considerations, given the vast differences in employment and labor market features worldwide. Additionally, we provide practical tools for addressing the various considerations, with the aim of advancing EQ research for comparative purposes across diverse contexts. A comprehensive understanding of EQ configurations emerging across different contexts and their differential impacts on specific worker groups offers critical insights for informing labor market policies and strategies aimed at promoting more secure and equitable forms of employment in both the Global North and Global South." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

Zitatform

Wolff, Joachim (2025): Bedarf es schärferer Leistungsminderungen beim Bürgergeld? (Serie "Bürgergeld"). In: IAB-Forum H. 10.03.2025, 2025-03-10. DOI:10.48720/IAB.FOO.20250310.01

Abstract

"Die Sanktionen im Bürgergeld sind viel zu stark abgemildert worden, ist in der öffentlichen Debatte immer wieder zu hören. Forschungsergebnisse zeigen: Sanktionen wirken, sind aber kein Allheilmittel. Und sie haben auch nicht intendierte Wirkungen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

de Oliveira, Claire, Margaret Jamieson & Sara Bonato (2025): Mental health as a determinant of work: a scoping review on the impact of mental health on precarious employment. In: Health Policy, Jg. 161. DOI:10.1016/j.healthpol.2025.105395

Abstract

"Background: While many studies have examined the impact of precarious employment on mental health, the reverse relationship has received less attention. Objectives: The objectives of this scoping review were to ascertain the existing literature examining the impact of mental health on precarious employment and to describe, synthesize, and critically appraise it. Methods: Business Source Premier, EconLit, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science were searched from 1 January 1980 to 30 August 2024. Additionally, searches were undertaken in Google and specific websites; references of key papers were also examined. Relevant data were extracted from studies, and their quality was assessed, namely whether they accounted for endogeneity. Evidence was synthesized by mental disorder/illness/problem using a narrative synthesis approach. Results: After duplicates were removed, the search yielded 10,048 unique records; ultimately, 19 relevant papers, corresponding to 20 unique studies, were deemed relevant. Few specifically focused on mental health as a determinant of precarious employment and/or recognised the potential presence of endogeneity. Studies found mixed evidence on the relationship between mental health and precarious employment. While the evidence suggests that psychological distress and mental health complaints likely increase the probability of precarious employment, anxiety and emotional exhaustion likely do not. The evidence on depressive disorders is mixed/inconclusive. Conclusion: Some of the existing literature suggests that people with poor mental health may be at a higher risk of precarious employment; however, in some instances, the evidence was either mixed/inconclusive or absent. More high-quality studies are needed to inform clear policy recommendations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.) ((en))

Abstract

"Instead of flexi-work and increased labor participation for women, the platform economy has deepened intersectional inequalities—of gender, class, geography, and race—making women workers more vulnerable. At the Beijing+30 conjuncture, we urgently need multi-scalar policy responses that can get our institutions ready for a feminist future of work. To explore the building blocks of this imperative, IT for Change, DAWN, and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) convened a series of four consultations in the Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe, and Latin America in February 2025, bringing together 50+ feminist scholars, practitioners, gender equality experts, lawyers focused on labor rights, and trade union representatives." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Altenried, Moritz (2024): Mobile workers, contingent labour: Migration, the gig economy and the multiplication of labour. In: Environment and planning. A, Economy and space, Jg. 56, H. 4, S. 1113-1128. DOI:10.1177/0308518X211054846

Abstract

"The article takes the surprising exit of the food delivery platform Deliveroo from Berlin as a starting point to analyse the relationship between migration and the gig economy. In Berlin and many cities across the globe, migrant workers are indispensable to the operations of digital platforms such as Uber, Helpling, or Deliveroo. The article uses in-depth ethnographic and qualitative research to show how the latter's exit from Berlin provides an almost exemplary picture of why urban gig economy platforms are strongholds of migrant labour, while at the same time, demonstrating the very contingency of this form of work. The article analyses the specific reasons why digital platforms are particularly open to migrants and argues that the very combination of new forms of algorithmic management and hyper-flexible forms of employment that is characteristic of gig economy platforms is also the reason why these platforms are geared perfectly toward the exploitation of migrant labour. This allows the analysis of digital platforms in the context of stratified labour markets and situates them within a long history of contingent labour that is closely intertwined with the mobility of labour." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2021 a Pion publication) ((en))

Zitatform

Böhme, René (2024): Arbeitsausbeutung im Reinigungsgewerbe. Problemlagen, Hilfestrukturen, Handlungsmöglichkeiten. (Working paper Forschungsförderung / Hans Böckler Stiftung 333), Düsseldorf, 89 S.

Abstract

"Arbeitsausbeutung ist in Deutschland alltägliche Praxis. Zahlreiche Hürden führen dazu, dass es in den seltensten Fällen zur Strafverfolgung der Täter:innen kommt - das macht Ausbeutung zu einem lukrativen Geschäftsmodell. Um dem entgegenzuwirken, sind Bund, Länder und Kommunen aufgefordert, eine Gesamtstrategie zur Bekämpfung von Arbeitsausbeutung zu entwickeln. Diese sollte Erleichterungen bei der Strafverfolgung, quantitative und qualitative Verbesserungen der Kontrollmechanismen sowie eine Stärkung des Hilfesystems umfassen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Depperschmidt, Rina, Heleen Matton, Hans Pongratz & Pia Probst (2024): Plattformnutzung durch Solo-Selbstständige. Explorative Befunde und forschungsstrategische Perspektiven. In: Arbeit. Zeitschrift für Arbeitsforschung, Arbeitsgestaltung und Arbeitspolitik, Jg. 33, H. 1-2, S. 3-27. DOI:10.1515/arbeit-2024-0002

Abstract

"Plattformarbeit ist für Solo-Selbstständige zu einem wichtigen Erwerbszugang geworden. Dieser Zusammenhang wurde noch wenig untersucht, obwohl der Forschungsstand für beide Erwerbsformen ähnliche Bedingungen ausweist. Mittels einer qualitativen Befragung haben wir die Plattformerfahrungen von 20 Solo-Selbstständigen aus drei Berufsfeldern in vergleichender Perspektive analysiert: Yoga-Lehrer*innen, Sprachlehrer*innen und Creator*innen von Inhalten für die sozialen Medien. Trotz verschiedener Formen der Nutzung von Plattformdiensten sind die Resultate ähnlich: Für kleinere Zusatzeinnahmen ist beträchtlicher Aufwand erforderlich, aber Tools und Informationsangebote der Plattformen machen Arbeitserleichterungen möglich. Die Solo-Selbstständigen erleben viele der aus der Plattformforschung bekannten Abhängigkeiten und verschärften Konkurrenzbedingungen auf Online-Märkten. Nur für wenige Creator*innen führt Plattformarbeit aus einer prekären Selbstständigkeit heraus. Der Beitrag plädiert dafür, die beiden Forschungsfelder stärker zu verbinden und mit institutionellen Absicherungen des solo-selbstständigen Erwerbs auch die Bedingungen von Plattformarbeit zu verbessern." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku, © De Gruyter)

Zitatform

Gray, B.J., M.L. Griffiths, R.G. Kyle, K.R. Isherwood, C. Humphreys & A.R. Davies (2024): Precarious employment and associations with socio-demographic characteristics and self-reported health in Wales, UK. In: Public health, Jg. 236, S. 452-458. DOI:10.1016/j.puhe.2024.08.015

Abstract

"Objectives: The study's aim was to explore the prevalence of precarious employment (PE) in Wales prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and examine associations with PE domains across socio-demographics and self-reported health. Study design: A cross-sectional design was used to explore the prevalence of PE in Wales prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, in February 2020. Methods: Data were collected from a national household survey carried out in May/June 2020, with a sample of 1032 residents in Wales. PE was determined using the Employment Precariousness Scale. Associations between experiencing PE and socio-demographic/health characteristics were examined using Chi-squared tests and logistic regression models (multinomial and binary). Results: Overall, before the pandemic, one in four respondents (26.5%) was in PE, with the most prevalent domains, wages, and disempowerment being experienced by at least 50% of respondents. Worse perceived treatment at work was twice as likely in those reporting pre-existing conditions (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.45 95% confidence interval [CI]: [1.33–4.49]), poorer general health (aOR: 2.33 95% CI: [1.22–4.47]), or low mental wellbeing (aOR: 2.81 95% CI: [1.34–5.88]). Those with high wage precariousness were three times more likely to report low mental wellbeing (aOR 3.12 95% CI [1.54–6.32]). Conclusions: The creation and Provision of secure, adequately paid job opportunities has the potential to reduce the prevalence of PE in Wales. Targeting such employment opportunities to those people currently unwell would have better population health gains." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Hayes, L.J.B. & Naomi Maynard (2024): ‘Workers using foodbanks’: the embedding of food insecurity at the nexus of welfare and employment laws. In: The Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, Jg. 32, H. 3, S. 318-342. DOI:10.1332/17598273y2024d000000026

Abstract

"In this first UK study of ‘Workers using foodbanks’, 65 per cent of research participants, including 76 per cent of those of working age, identified poor-quality employment as the root cause of their food insecurity. This primary problem of the deficient quality of jobs was characterized by insecure work, low wages, and excessive mental stress. Data revealed an environment in which workers are required to claim benefits because available employment cannot sustain their needs. A contemporary generation of ‘in-and-out-of-work[ers]’ are food insecure because of a secondary problem of inadequate welfare support. Post-pandemic welfare laws are interacting with ineffective employment rights protection to scaffold a low-wage labour market in which jobs are stripped of qualities that meet workers ’ basic needs. There is an urgent need to respond to the UKs record high incidence of food insecurity by improving the quality of available employment so that all jobs deliver adequate income, security of working arrangements, and support for good mental and physical health. ‘Workers using foodbanks’ is an aphorism that captures a contemporary reality in which the risk of food insecurity is embedded in contractual arrangements for work that are forged at the nexus of welfare and employment laws." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 Policy Press) ((en))

Zitatform

Hüttenhoff, Frederic & Karen Jaehrling (2024): Werkverträge – wachsende Parallelwelt in transnationalen Arbeitsmärkten. (IAQ-Report 2024-04), Duisburg ; Essen, 19 S. DOI:10.17185/duepublico/81838

Abstract

"In manchen Branchen wie dem Baugewerbe und Schiffbau haben Werkverträge zugenommen und einen Funktionswandel durchlaufen. Dort zeichnet sich ein Produktionsmodell ab, das mittels Subunternehmen und unter Rückgriff auf internationale Arbeitsmärkte Firmenstrukturen verschleiert und die Feststellung der verantwortlichen Arbeitgeber erschwert. Diese Intransparenz hat eine erhebliche Prekarisierung der Arbeits- und Lebensbedingungen der betroffenen, in der Regel migrantischen Arbeitskräfte zur Folge. Um dem zu begegnen, haben Gewerkschaften, Betriebsräte und Beratungsorganisationen begonnen, sich transnationaler auszurichten. Insbesondere vertrauensbildende Maßnahmen sind ein wichtiger Bestandteil der neuen Strategien. Nicht alle Probleme können durch eine Rechtsmobilisierung „von unten“ und kollektive Verhandlungen der Sozialpartner gelöst werden. Die Durchsetzung von equal pay und equal treatment bleibt eine staatliche Kernaufgabe." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Jankowski, Krzysztof Z. (2024): Positioning precarity: The contingent nature of precarious work in structure and practice. In: The British journal of sociology, Jg. 75, H. 5, S. 715-730. DOI:10.1111/1468-4446.13125

Abstract

"Conceptualizing precarity has come to rest on the multi-dimensional and differentiated insecurities of job and worker, this however belies the relationship between structure and experience where precarity originates. To bridge that relationship, I employ the landscape concept to position workers relative to the structural contingency of precarious work. To study this landscape, I conducted an ethnography involving job searching, working, and interviewing workers. While certainly insecure, these jobs displayed parallel characteristics of streamlined hiring and short-notice starts which workers took advantage of. I explore three ideal-typical ‘jobs’—the first, only, and best job—to examine how vulnerability is balanced with contingency to produce precarity. This analysis and the landscape approach locate the political-economic transformation of work in the context of workers' lives and their labor market position. Taking precarious work is an act of balancing one's vulnerabilities in a way that constructs and thus naturalizes precarity. Overall, the article contributes an image of an economy where workers have to be opportunistic in a continual struggle for work while stratified by their personal circumstances and position in this labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

Zitatform

Jones, Katy, Sharon Wright & Lisa Scullion (2024): The Impact of Welfare Conditionality on Experiences of Job Quality. In: Work, Employment and Society, Jg. 38, H. 6, S. 1658-1679. DOI:10.1177/09500170231219677

Abstract

"This article contributes to emerging debates about how behavioural conditionality within welfare systems influences job quality. Drawing upon analysis of unique data from three waves of qualitative longitudinal interviews with 46 UK social security recipients (133 interviews), we establish that the impact of welfare conditionality is so substantial that it is no longer adequate to discuss job quality without reference to its interconnections to the welfare system. More specifically, we identify how conditionality drives welfare recipients’ experience of four core dimensions of jobquality: disempowering and propelling claimants towards inadequate pay, insecurity and poor employment terms, undermining multiple intrinsic characteristics of work and creating what we term a new ‘Work–Life–Welfare balance’. Instead of acting as a neutral arbitrator between jobseekers and employers, the welfare system is exposed as complicit in reinforcing one-sided flexibility through one-sided conditionality, by emphasising intensive job-seeking, while leaving poor-quality work provided by employers unchecked." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Manning, Alan & Graham Mazeine (2024): Subjective Job Insecurity and the Rise of the Precariat: Evidence from the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. In: The Review of Economics and Statistics, Jg. 106, H. 3, S. 748-761. DOI:10.1162/rest_a_01196

Abstract

"There is a widespread belief that work is less secure than in the past, that an increasing share of workers are part of the “precariat.” It is hard to find much evidence for this in objective measures of job security, but perhaps subjective measures show different trends. This paper shows that in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, workers feel as secure as they ever have in the past 30 years. This is partly because job insecurity is very cyclical and (pre-COVID) unemployment rates very low, but there is also no clear underlying trend towards increased subjective measures of job insecurity. This conclusion seems robust to controlling for the changing mix of the labor force, and it is true for specific subsets of workers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © MIT Press Journals) ((en))

Zitatform

Orth, Barbara (2024): Stratified pathways into platform work: Migration trajectories and skills in Berlin's gig economy. In: Environment and planning. A, Economy and space, Jg. 56, H. 2, S. 476-490. DOI:10.1177/0308518X231191933

Abstract

"Platform labour scholars have noted the prevalence of migrant workers in the gig economy. This paper builds on this research but interrogates the broad concept of 'migrant labour'. The study draws on biographical interviews with platform workers in grocery delivery and domestic work platforms in Berlin, Germany as well as expert interviews with union representatives, migrant organisations and white-collar platform company employees. Through an examination of the mobility strategies of platform workers in this subset of the platform economy, the study reveals a stratification of migrant trajectories and of skills needed to engage in platform work across different types of labour platforms. The study finds that platform companies draw on a workforce that consists of recently arrived young migrants with comparatively high education, language skills and digital literacy. Through close analysis of an understudied section of the gig economy, the paper contributes to the ongoing theorisation of the nexus of migration regimes and platform-mediated labour regimes. The findings complicate the notion of 'accessibility' of platform work and call for the inclusion of visa regimes, immigration categories and particular skill sets in future research on platform labour." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2023 a Pion publication) ((en))

Zitatform

PAUL, Anju Mary (2024): Unpacking cross‐country variations in domestic worker protection regimes: Adopting a policy regime perspective. In: International Labour Review, Jg. 163, H. 3, S. 377-396. DOI:10.1111/ilr.12432

Abstract

"Domestic workers are some of the most vulnerable and least protected workers in the world. However, there is significant variation in domestic worker protections across countries. Using a policy regime perspective, I unpack how differing ideas, institutional arrangements and interest groups inform differences in the degree of legal protections that a country provides domestic workers. I posit that only if all three of these building blocks are present and supportive will a country institute a strong domestic worker protection regime. I apply this model to explain the incomplete/weak domestic worker protection regimes in Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa and Sweden." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

Zitatform

Però, Davide & John Downey (2024): Advancing Workers' Rights in the Gig Economy through Discursive Power: The Communicative Strategies of Indie Unions. In: Work, Employment and Society, Jg. 38, H. 1, S. 140-160. DOI:10.1177/09500170221103160

Abstract

"Finding limited representation in established unions, a growing number of precarious and migrant workers of the gig economy have been turning to self-organization. Yet little is known about how these workers can compensate for their lack of material resources and institutional support and negotiate effectively with employers. Drawing on interviews, frame, and content analysis grounded in ethnographic research with the precarious and migrant workers of British ‘indie’ unions, we examine the significance of self-mediation practices in facilitating effective negotiations. We find that the effectiveness of campaigns can be enhanced by strategically integrating vibrant direct action of workers and allies with self-mediated messages, which are framed to resonate with the general public and mainstream media – a practice that we call communicative unionism. These findings extend labour movement scholarship by showing the analytical importance of considering workers’ discursive power-building practices. They also contribute to addressing social movement studies’ historical neglect of workers’ collective engagements with employers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Tarrabain, Chloe & Robyn Thomas (2024): The Dynamics of Control of Migrant Agency Workers: Over-Recruitment, 'The Bitchlist' and the Enterprising-Self. In: Work, Employment and Society, Jg. 38, H. 1, S. 27-43. DOI:10.1177/09500170221100934

Abstract

"This article explores migrant workers’ experiences of organisational control while undertaking temporary agency work. This study is based on a ‘covert’ ethnographic study set at a temporary employment agency that short-term contracts workers to the catering and hospitality industry. The findings show how control is perceived by workers to emerge from the over-recruitment, coupled with the allocation of work through an informal ranking system. Migrant workers’ specific socio-economic circumstances and their race and gender identities informed their responses to these systems, resulting in the buy-in to discourses of enterprise. The result was actors who are complicit, if not active, participants in self and peer regulation. As such, this article contributes to the literature on enterprising-selves, control of temporary agency workers and the wider manufacturing consent literature." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Wimmer, Christopher (2024): Die Marginalisierten. (Über-) Leben zwischen Mangel und Notwendigkeit. Weinheim: Juventa Verlag, 302 S.

Abstract

"Christopher Wimmer blickt nach »ganz unten«. Seine These trifft den Kern der deutschen Gegenwart: Ein - wenn nicht sogar das zentrale - Ergebnis kapitalistischer Vergesellschaftung besteht in der Marginalisierung von Menschen in sozialen, politischen und kulturellen Zusammenhängen. Wimmer zeigt, wie sich Marginalisierung konkret auswirkt. Er beschäftigt sich mit der Sozialisation der Marginalisierten und stellt daraufhin ihre Arbeitssituation, ihr Alltagsleben und ihre sozialen Beziehungen ins Zentrum. Überall dort zeigen sich Auswirkungen ihrer sozialen Position. Doch auch das Bewusstsein der Marginalisierten ist von ihrer Lage beeinflusst. All dies hat Folgen für eine Politik, die sich mit sozialer Marginalisierung auseinandersetzen will." (Verlagsangaben, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Alderotti, Giammarco, Eleonora Mussino & Chiara Ludovica Comolli (2023): Natives' and migrants' employment uncertainty and childbearing during the great recession. A comparison between Italy and Sweden. In: European Societies, Jg. 25, H. 4, S. 539-573. DOI:10.1080/14616696.2022.2153302

Abstract

"This study contributes to the empirical research on the fertility decline registered in Europe in the aftermath of the Great Recession adopting a comparative perspective. We explore childbearing behavior during the crisis across three dimensions of vulnerability: migration background (measured as: country of origin and length of stay in the destination country), labor market uncertainty, and country of residence. We compare childbearing behavior by parity among native and migrant women with different employment statuses in Sweden and Italy. Using the Swedish population registers and the Italian Labor Force Survey, we investigate the change in childbearing probabilities between the pre-crisis (2006?2009) and the years following the onset of the crisis (2010?2015). We find that the chances of motherhood in the aftermath of the Great Recession decreased substantially among recently arrived migrant women, but also among unemployed natives and women with unstable careers. The migration and labor market vulnerabilities, however, do not accumulate: unemployment and career instability negatively affect only native women?s probability of motherhood. Finally, the country comparison demonstrates that while the duration of stay and the weaker labor market attachment reduces the chances of motherhood in both contexts, the negative effect of unemployment is particularly strong in Italy." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Burr, Hermann (2023): Prekäre Beschäftigung und depressive Symptomatik – geschlechtsabhängige Assoziationen. In: Arbeitsmedizin, Sozialmedizin, Umweltmedizin, Jg. 58, H. 5, S. 318-326. DOI:10.17147/asu-1-273034

Abstract

"Einleitung: Längsschnittstudien deuten darauf hin, dass das Risiko für die Entwicklung einer depressiven Symptomatik bei prekärer Beschäftigung bei Männern höher ist als bei Frauen. Eine südkoreanische Studie lässt vermuten, dass die Position im Haushalt diesen Unterschied erklären könnte. Es stellt sich die Frage, ob diese Risikounterschiede durch die Position im Haushalt (d.h. alleinlebend ohne Partnerin/Partner oder zusammenlebend mit Partnerin/Partner) erklärt werden können. Methoden: Die Analyse basiert auf einer Kohorte von 2009 Beschäftigten der „Studie Mentale Gesundheit bei der Arbeit“ (S-MGA) (Rose et al. 2017). Hierbei wurden fünf Indikatoren prekärer Beschäftigung verwendet: subjektive Arbeitsplatzunsicherheit, geringfügige Beschäftigung, zeitlich befristete Beschäftigung, Niedriglohn (Nettostundenlohn < 60 % des Medians) und Episoden von Arbeitslosigkeit in der Vergangenheit – ebenfalls zusammengefasst in einem Index prekärer Beschäftigung. Mögliche Assoziationen zwischen prekärer Beschäftigung im Zeitraum 2012–2017 und einer depressiven Symptomatik im Jahr 2017 wurden durch logistische Regressionsanalysen untersucht – stratifiziert nach Geschlecht und Haushaltsstatus (d. h. alleinlebend ohne Partnerin/Partner oder zusammenlebend mit Partnerin/Partner) im Jahr 2012 und adjustiert für depressive Symptomatik, Alter, beruflichen Status und Partnerschaftsstatus im Jahr 2012. Ergebnisse: Der Haushaltsstatus zeigte keine signifikanten Interaktionen mit den Indikatoren einer prekären Beschäftigung bzw. dem Index prekärer Beschäftigung, weder bei Frauen noch bei Männern. Schlussfolgerung: Es ist immer noch ungeklärt, warum in vielen Studien die Risiken von prekärer Beschäftigung für die Entwicklung einer depressiven Symptomatik bei Männern höher sind als bei Frauen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Doorn, Niels van, Fabian Ferrari & Mark Graham (2023): Migration and Migrant Labour in the Gig Economy: An Intervention. In: Work, Employment and Society, Jg. 37, H. 4, S. 1099-1111. DOI:10.1177/09500170221096581

Abstract

"In urban gig economies around the world, platform labour is predominantly migrant labour, yet research on the intersection of the gig economy and labour migration remains scant. Our experience with two action research projects, spanning six cities on four continents, has taught us how platform work impacts the structural vulnerability of migrant workers. This leads us to two claims that should recalibrate the gig economy research agenda. First, we argue that platform labour simultaneously degrades working conditions while offering migrants much-needed opportunities to improve their livelihoods. Second, we contend that the reclassification of gig workers as employees is by itself not sufficient to counter the precarisation of migrant gig work. Instead, we need ambitious policies at the intersection of immigration, social welfare, and employment regulation that push back against the digitally mediated commodification of migrant labour worldwide." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

García-Pérez, Carmelo, Mercedes Prieto, Jorge Seva, Hipólito Simón & Raquel Simón-Albert (2023): A multidimensional operationalization of precarious employment with a counting approach: evidence from Spain. In: Applied Economics, Jg. 55, H. 5, S. 546-561. DOI:10.1080/00036846.2022.2091744

Abstract

"The article proposes a novel multidimensional operationalization of precarious employment using the Alkire-Foster dual threshold counting approach methodology. The proposal is made in a context in which, although precarious employment tends to be considered a multidimensional construct characterized by an accumulation of unfavourable features of employment quality, there is neither a standard and generally accepted definition nor operationalization of the phenomenon in the literature. The proposed methodology has the advantages that it can be easily applied to the usual content of most labour surveys, and that it allows an analysis of both the scale and the nature of precariousness. The illustrative evidence obtained for Spain reveals both a high incidence of multidimensional precariousness (affecting almost 40% of wage earners) and a high intensity (multidimensional precarious wage earners suffer from around 3 job deprivations). Moreover, it shows that employment precariousness is highly persistent over time and tends to grow over time and that there is great heterogeneity in the scope of the phenomenon according to its individual incidence and among different groups of workers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Hopp, Marvin, Ann-Kathrin Hoffmann, Aaron Zielke, Lukas Leslie & Martin Seeliger (2023): Jung, akademisch, prekär. Studentische Beschäftigte an Hochschulen und Forschungseinrichtungen : eine Ausnahme vom dualen System regulierter Arbeitsbeziehungen. Bremen, 178 S.

Abstract

"Das Forschungsprojekt „Jung, akademisch, prekär?“ wird vom Institut für Arbeit und Wirtschaft in Kooperation mit ver.di und GEW durchgeführt. Gegenstand des Projektes ist eine bundesweite Beschäftigtenbefragung. Insgesamt wurden im Zeitraum vom 30. Januar 2022 bis zum 22. Juli 2022 11.107 studentische/wissenschaftliche Hilfskräfte und Tutor*innen zu ihren Beschäftigungsverhältnissen und Arbeitsbedingungen befragt. Die Studie ist damit die bisher umfassendste Erhebung im Feld. Untersucht wurden unter anderem die Auswirkungen geringer Regulierung. So arbeiten die jungen Studierenden (mit Ausnahme Berlins) in einem nicht tariflich abgesicherten Bereich, sind in den meisten Bundesländern entweder unmittelbar oder mittelbar von den Personalvertretungsgesetzen der Länder ausgenommen und unterliegen Sonderregelungen, die auf Basis des Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetzes im Zeitraum von 6 Jahren freie Hand bei Vertragslaufzeiten und -anzahl lässt. Auf Basis der Datenlage wird gezeigt, welche Auswirkungen diese besondere Konstellation auf die soziale Lage, soziale Zusammensetzung, Ausgestaltung der Verträge und in letzter Konsequenz die Einhaltung von Arbeitnehmer:innenrechten hat. Das Beispiel Berlin zeigt wiederum, dass eine Integration studentischer Beschäftigter in das „duale System“ regulierter Arbeitsbeziehungen möglich ist und dies positive Auswirkungen auf soziale Lage der Beschäftigten sowie die Einhaltung derer Arbeitnehmer*innenrechte hat. Die vorgelegten Forschungsergebnisse werden von den Gewerkschaften ver.di und GEW in die Spitzengespräche mit der Tarifgemeinschaft deutscher Länder (TdL – Arbeitgeberverband der Länder) über eine Bestandsaufnahme zu den Arbeits- und Beschäftigungsbedingungen studentischer Beschäftigter eingebracht. Die Gespräche sollen aus Sicht der Gewerkschaften eine Tarifierung der studentischen/wissenschaftliche Hilfskräfte und Tutor*innen vorbereiten." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))