Prekäre Beschäftigung
Unter den Begriff "Prekäre Beschäftigung" fallen Arbeitsverhältnisse mit niedrigen Löhnen, die häufig nicht auf Dauer und Kontinuität angelegt sind, keine Absicherung durch die Sozialversicherung und nur geringe arbeitsrechtliche Schutzrechte aufweisen. Der Begriff ist umstritten - und noch viel mehr die Frage: Wirken prekäre Beschäftigungsverhältnisse immer ausgrenzend oder leisten sie auch einen notwendigen Beitrag zur Flexibilisierung des Arbeitsmarktes? Die Infoplattform erschließt Informationen zum Forschungsstand.
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Literaturhinweis
Prekarität: Ursachen, soziale Folgen und politische Verarbeitungsformen unsicherer Beschäftigungsverhältnisse (2022)
Dörre, Klaus; Kraemer, Klaus; Speidel, Frederic;Zitatform
Dörre, Klaus, Klaus Kraemer & Frederic Speidel (Hrsg.) (2022): Prekarität. Ursachen, soziale Folgen und politische Verarbeitungsformen unsicherer Beschäftigungsverhältnisse. (Analysen zu gesellschaftlicher Integration und Desintegration), Wiesbaden: VS, Verl. für Sozialwissenschaften, 300 S.
Abstract
Gegenwärtig erleben die reichen Gesellschaften des Westens eine Wiederkehr sozialer Unsicherheit. Die vorliegende Studie sieht in der Ausbreitung prekärer Arbeitsverhältnisse eine zentrale Ursache. Auf der Basis empirischer Untersuchungen zur subjektiven Verarbeitung unsicherer Beschäftigung präsentieren die Autoren ihre inzwischen intensiv diskutierte Typologie der Prekarität erstmals in einer ausführlichen Fassung. Darüber hinaus werden Folgeuntersuchungen zu Langzeitarbeitslosen, Ein-Euro-Jobbern, Leiharbeitern und veränderten Arbeitsbeziehungen ausgewertet. Das Resümee der Autoren lautet: Prekarität ist nicht länger ein exklusives Phänomen an den Rändern der Arbeitsgesellschaft. Einem Bumerangeffekt gleich wirkt die disziplinierende Kraft unsicherer Arbeits- und Lebensverhältnisse auf integrierte Gruppen zurück. Die Folgen sind über den Arbeitsmarkt und die Unternehmen hinaus bis ins politische System hinein spürbar. Themen der Studie sind u. a.: Typische Verarbeitungsformen von Prekarität, flexible und prekäre Beschäftigung, das Desintegrationsparadox, Prekarität und Disziplinierung, Hartz-IV-Folgen, politische Verarbeitungsformen von Prekarität, Rechtspopulistische Orientierungen.
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Literaturhinweis
Prekäre Erwerbs- und Haushaltslagen (2022)
Grimm, Natalie;Zitatform
Grimm, Natalie (2022): Prekäre Erwerbs- und Haushaltslagen. In: K. Marquardsen (Hrsg.) (2022): Armutsforschung. Handbuch für Wissenschaft und Forschung, S. 231-243.
Abstract
"Der Begriff der 'Prekarität' verweist seit vielen Jahren auf eine durch arbeits- und sozialstaatliche Veränderungen entstandene gesellschaftliche Zwischenzone zwischen Armut und existenzsichernder Stabilität. Durch den deutschen Beschäftigungsboom war das Thema der Prekarität zeitweise aus der öffentlichen Debatte verschwunden. Die Covid-19-Krise zeigt aber wie in einem Brennglas, dass all die gesellschaftlichen Probleme, auf die die Prekaritätsdebatte hinweist, keineswegs verschwunden sind: Brüchige (Erwerbs-)Biographien, unsichere soziale Statuspositionen sowie Spaltungen und Fragmentierungen in der Arbeitswelt, die immense Auswirkungen auf Erwerbs- und Lebenslagen haben." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
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Literaturhinweis
Prekär durch die Krise - Einblicke in die Arbeitsmarktsituation von Eingewanderten in der Pandemie (2022)
Pfeffer-Hoffmann, Christian; Krause, Eva Luise; Spitaleri, Laura; Becker, Paul; Komitowski, Doritt; Ziegler, Janine; Pallmann, Ildikó; Hampel, Anna-Elisabeth;Zitatform
Becker, Paul, Anna-Elisabeth Hampel, Eva Luise Krause & Laura Spitaleri (2022): Prekär durch die Krise - Einblicke in die Arbeitsmarktsituation von Eingewanderten in der Pandemie. (Analysen und Studien / IQ-Fachstelle Einwanderung 2022,01), Berlin: Mensch und Buch Verlag, 52 S.
Abstract
"In der vorliegenden Studie werden zentrale Erkenntnisse aus den bisherigen Veröffentlichungen der Fachstelle Einwanderung eingebunden und um aktuelle Zahlen ergänzt. Im Zentrum der Datenanalyse steht die Frage, wie sich der Einbruch der Wirtschaft auf die Arbeitslosen- und Beschäftigtenzahlen sowie auf die Einkommen auswirkte und welche Personengruppen – differenziert nach Geschlecht und Herkunftsstaaten – von diesen Veränderungen besonders stark betroffen waren. Zudem werden Veränderungen in einzelnen ausgewählten Berufshauptgruppen und Beschäftigungsarten näher betrachtet. Dafür wurden Berufshauptgruppen ausgewählt, in denen infolge der COVID-19-Krise Fachkräfteengpässe bestehen oder zu erwarten sind. Neben statistischen Sekundärdaten bezieht sich die Studie auf Erkenntnisse aus einem Fachaustausch mit Beratenden sowie mehreren qualitativen Interviews, die mit in Deutschland arbeitenden Neuzugewanderten im Frühling und Sommer 2021 geführt wurden und ihrerseits Hinweise auf sich verschärfende Prekarisierungstendenzen in Beschäftigungsverhältnissen von Migrant*innen in Deutschland geben." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
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Literaturhinweis
Atypical work, worker voice and supervisor responses (2022)
Sluiter, Roderick; Manevska, Katerina; Akkerman, Agnes;Zitatform
Sluiter, Roderick, Katerina Manevska & Agnes Akkerman (2022): Atypical work, worker voice and supervisor responses. In: Socio-economic review, Jg. 20, H. 3, S. 1069-1089. DOI:10.1093/ser/mwaa022
Abstract
"We study atypical workers’ experiences with voice of in the Netherlands. We take a relational approach to worker voice and hypothesize that atypical workers are particularly vulnerable to refrain from voice and to experience suppression. We test our hypotheses using unique data on workers’ actual experiences with voicing discontent and supervisors’ responses (N = 4708; collected in 2017 and 2018). We find that temporary and freelance work, job insecurity, replaceability and precarious values are barriers to worker voice. Job insecurity and precarious values are associated with less support and more suppression from supervisors. These insights offer a valuable contribution to scholarly and public debates on atypical work by demonstrating how it not only affects workers’ job security, income stability and entitlements but also reduces workers’ ability to speak up and solve problems at work." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Precarious work in the 21st century: A psychological perspective (2021)
Allan, Blake A.; Wilkins-Yel, Kerrie G.; Autin, Kelsey L.;Zitatform
Allan, Blake A., Kelsey L. Autin & Kerrie G. Wilkins-Yel (2021): Precarious work in the 21st century: A psychological perspective. In: Journal of vocational behavior, Jg. 126. DOI:10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103491
Abstract
"Converging forces have led to an increase in precarious work, which threatens the health and well-being of workers globally and in the United States. Scholars in many fields are studying the implications of precarious work, and work psychologists have contributed to this literature by studying constructs such as job insecurity, underemployment, and decent work. In this article, we summarize the literature on precarious work and offer a psychological framework of work precarity to connect this psychological research with the existing precarious work literature. In the work precarity framework, social and economic marginalization and economic conditions and policies influence who has precarious work, which subsequently leads to three psychological states of work precarity: precarity of work (i.e., uncertainty related to the continuity of one's work), precarity at work (i.e., unpredictability in work due to discrimination, harassment, and unsafe working conditions), and precarity from work (i.e., uncertainty from holding a job that does not meet one's basic needs). These psychological states then result in poorer job attitudes, poorer mental health, and disrupted identity. We also provide future directions for research in this area and identify areas where work psychologists can contribute and advance the literature." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2021 Elsevier) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Mobile workers, contingent labour: Migration, the gig economy and the multiplication of labour (2021)
Zitatform
Altenried, Moritz (2021): Mobile workers, contingent labour: Migration, the gig economy and the multiplication of labour. In: Environment and planning. A, Economy and space online erschienen am 08.11.2021, S. 1-16. 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))
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Literaturhinweis
Why a Labour Market Boom Does Not Necessarily Bring Down Inequality: Putting Together Germany's Inequality Puzzle (2021)
Zitatform
Biewen, Martin & Miriam Sturm (2021): Why a Labour Market Boom Does Not Necessarily Bring Down Inequality. Putting Together Germany's Inequality Puzzle. (IZA discussion paper 14357), Bonn, 32 S.
Abstract
"After an economically tough start into the new millennium, Germany experienced an unprecedented employment boom after 2005 only stopped by the COVID-19 pandemic. Persistently high levels of inequality despite a booming labour market and drastically falling unemployment rates constituted a puzzle, suggesting either that the German job miracle mainly benefitted individuals in the mid- or high-income range or that other developments offset the effects of the drastically improved labour market conditions. The present paper solves this puzzle by breaking down the observed changes in the distribution of disposable incomes between 2005/06 and 2015/16 into the contributions of eight different factors, one of them being the employment boom. Our results suggest that, while the latter did have an equalising impact, it was partially offset by the disequalising impact of other factors and substantially dampened by the tax and transfer system. Our results point to a strong role of the German tax and transfer system as a distributional stabilizer implying that, if the COVID-19 shock were to persistently reverse all the employment gains that occurred during the boom, this would only have a moderately disequalising effect on the distribution of net incomes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Prekär, aber frei? Arbeitsbedingungen und Karrierewege in der Wissenschaft (2021)
Bloch, Roland; Würmann, Carsten;Zitatform
Bloch, Roland & Carsten Würmann (2021): Prekär, aber frei? Arbeitsbedingungen und Karrierewege in der Wissenschaft. In: Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, Jg. 71, H. 46, S. 48-54.
Abstract
"Die Professur ist in Deutschland Leitbild der wissenschaftlichen Karriere. Wie hat sich das universitäre Karriere- und Beschäftigungssystem entwickelt? Welche Konsequenzen könnten sich daraus für die Wissenschaftsfreiheit ergeben?" (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
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Literaturhinweis
Social protection of atypical workers during the Covid-19 crisis (2021)
Zitatform
Bruckmeier, Kerstin, Diego d'Andria & Regina Konle-Seidl (2021): Social protection of atypical workers during the Covid-19 crisis. In: IAB-Forum H. 28.05.2021 Nürnberg, o. Sz., 2021-05-27.
Abstract
"The Covid-19 crisis acts like a magnifying glass under which already existing problems within countries’ social protection systems become more visible than before. It puts the spotlight on weaknesses, especially the social protection of the atypically employed and the (solo) self-employed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Dualism or solidarity? Conditions for union success in regulating precarious work (2021)
Carver, Laura; Doellgast, Virginia;Zitatform
Carver, Laura & Virginia Doellgast (2021): Dualism or solidarity? Conditions for union success in regulating precarious work. In: European journal of industrial relations, Jg. 27, H. 4, S. 367-385. DOI:10.1177/0959680120978916
Abstract
"This article summarizes and reviews research on union responses to precarious work in Europe, based on a systematic coding of 56 case study-based articles published between 2008 and 2019. Analyses of these cases suggest two paths to labour market dualism, with the first involving institutional fragmentation and union division, and the second a combination of weak structural power and partnership-oriented union identities. The authors also identify two paths to solidarity, with the result of reduced precarity for peripheral workers: a conflict-based path and a social partnership-based path. Campaigns to organize migrant workers present distinctive institutional and structural challenges to unions, with studies involving migrants most often finding ‘failed solidarity’, in which inclusive organizing fails to reduce precarity. The article integrates these findings with past frameworks on union responses to precarious work and concludes with recommendations for future research." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
When two (or more) do not equal one: an analysis of the changing nature of multiple and single jobholding in Europe (2021)
Conen, Wieteke; de Beer, Paul;Zitatform
Conen, Wieteke & Paul de Beer (2021): When two (or more) do not equal one: an analysis of the changing nature of multiple and single jobholding in Europe. In: Transfer, Jg. 27, H. 2, S. 165-180. DOI:10.1177/10242589211002630
Abstract
"Ausmaß und Struktur multipler Arbeitsverhältnisse und ihre Konsequenzen für Menschen in Mehrfachbeschäftigung ändern sich in zahlreichen westlichen Volkswirtschaften. Zurzeit stehen nur begrenzte quantitative empirische Erkenntnisse über die sich ändernden Merkmale multipler Arbeitsverhältnisse und über die Frage zur Verfügung, ob sich die ökonomisch prekäre Lage von Menschen im Laufe der Zeit geändert hat. In dem vorliegenden Artikel befassen wir uns in erster Linie mit der Situation von Menschen in Mehrfachbeschäftigung und den für sie geltenden Trends im Vergleich zum „klassischen” Arbeitnehmer oder Arbeitnehmerin in Europa mit nur einem Arbeitsplatz. Dazu untersuchen wir die Arbeitszeiten und gehen außerdem den Fragen nach, ob Arbeitnehmer:innen gern längere Arbeitszeiten hätten und ob sie trotz ihrer Beschäftigung von Armut bedroht sind. Zu diesem Zweck untersuchen wir Daten, die seit Anfang der 2000er Jahre im Rahmen der EU-Arbeitskräfteerhebung und der EU-Statistik über Einkommen und Lebensbedingungen erfasst wurden. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass multiple Arbeitsverhältnisse ein signifikantes und um sich greifendes Phänomen in den Arbeitsmärkten zahlreicher hoch entwickelter Volkswirtschaften sind, wobei sich die Merkmale ständig ändern. Das gilt zum Beispiel für die geschlechtsspezifische Verteilung und Kombination dieser Arbeitsverträge. Die Armutsgefährdung von Erwerbstätigen ist in atypischen Arbeitsverhältnissen relativ hoch, aber die Ergebnisse belegen keinen negativen Trend. Armut trotz Erwerbstätigkeit scheint bei Single-Arbeitnehmer:innen und Arbeitnehmer:innen in atypischen Beschäftigungsverhältnissen zuzunehmen, dies gilt sowohl für Beschäftigte mit nur einem Job als auch für Mehrfachbeschäftigte." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
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Literaturhinweis
Precariousness in Norway and Sweden: a comparative register-based study of longstanding precarious attachment to the labour market 1996–2015 (2021)
Zitatform
Gauffin, Karl, Kristian Heggebø & Jon Ivar Elstad (2021): Precariousness in Norway and Sweden: a comparative register-based study of longstanding precarious attachment to the labour market 1996–2015. In: European Societies, Jg. 23, H. 3, S. 379-402. DOI:10.1080/14616696.2021.1882685
Abstract
"Precariousness in working life is a rising concern in Europe, but scant statistical evidence exists as to the prevalence and development of longstanding precarious employment. Using high-quality individual-level population-wide register data across several decades, this study addresses this issue in Norway and Sweden. Longstanding precarious attachment to the labour market was defined as low/marginal work income during eight years, with frequent substantial income drops and/or reliance on income maintenance schemes. In the core working-age population, 15.3 percent in Norway and 20.0 percent in Sweden had this employment attachment during 1996–2003. Women, low educated, and foreign-born were at higher risk. Contrary to expectations, in 2008–2015, longstanding precarious attachment had declined to 12.7 percent in Norway and 14.5 percent in Sweden. Women in particular, but also immigrants, had attained stronger labour market attachment in the latter period. These results could indicate that key welfare state elements such as trade union strength, strong employment protection and active labour market policies have been successful in shielding workers from negative labour market developments. However, certain population categories with particularly high risk of precarious employment, such as young adults and short-term and undocumented immigrants, have not been analysed by this study" (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Precarious but popular? The German mini-job scheme in comparative research on work and welfare (2021)
Konle-Seidl, Regina;Zitatform
Konle-Seidl, Regina (2021): Precarious but popular? The German mini-job scheme in comparative research on work and welfare. In: Journal of international and comparative social policy, Jg. 37, H. 3, S. 293-306., 2021-10-14. DOI:10.1017/ics.2021.11
Abstract
"This review paper critically examines a range of analytical frameworks used to analyse the German mini-job scheme in comparative research on work and welfare. The approaches examined include labour market dualisation in comparative political economy research and welfare-to-work policies in comparative social policy research. The paper claims that using stylized facts instead of a thorough understanding of the broader context of national employment and social systems leads to misinterpretations in terms of policy learning. By describing the institutional context and main drivers of the evolution of mini-jobs over time, based on variety of data sources, statistics and empirical studies, the paper addresses the critical role of this specific employment scheme for gender equality, largely ignored in the comparative literature." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
Beteiligte aus dem IAB
Konle-Seidl, Regina; -
Literaturhinweis
"Good" Bad Jobs? The Evolution of Migrant Low-Wage Employment in Germany (1985-2015) (2021)
Krings, Torben;Zitatform
Krings, Torben (2021): "Good" Bad Jobs? The Evolution of Migrant Low-Wage Employment in Germany (1985-2015). In: Work, Employment and Society, Jg. 35, H. 3, S. 527-544. DOI:10.1177/0950017020946567
Abstract
"The article examines the evolution of migrant low-wage employment in the context of structural changes in the German labour market. By drawing on data from the Socio-Economic-Panel, it seeks to answer why low-wage jobs disproportionally rose among migrants since the late 1980s. It argues that while human capital characteristics mattered to some extent, institutional and organisational changes were more important to account for worsening earnings. When linking the findings to the broader debate about migration and labour market segmentation, several issues emerge. First, the extent of low-wage jobs is not fixed but shaped by historically specific segmentation patterns that may change over time. Second, whether less-skilled jobs are precarious and of low pay depend above all on the presence of inclusive labour market institutions and power relations between actors. Third, the growth of low-wage jobs cannot be considered independent of the available labour supply, including a rise in cross-border mobility." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Negotiating the different degrees of precarity in the UK academia during the Covid-19 pandemic (2021)
Zitatform
Kınıkoğlu, Canan Neşe & Aysegul Can (2021): Negotiating the different degrees of precarity in the UK academia during the Covid-19 pandemic. In: European Societies, Jg. 23, H. sup1, S. S817-S830. DOI:10.1080/14616696.2020.1839670
Abstract
"This study explores how early career academics negotiate precarity in the higher education sector in the United Kingdom under the amplified uncertainties brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our preliminary findings based on the semi-structured interviews with nine early career academics (six women and three men) shed light on varying experiences of early career academic precarity with regard to working and life routines, and their participation in the job market. We argue that early career academics’ gender, employment status, and their university affiliations influence the degree to which they are able to instrumentalise and negotiate precarity during the pandemic in the UK." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Breaking up the 'precariat': Personalisation, differentiation and deindividuation in precarious work groups (2021)
Zitatform
Manolchev, Constantine, Richard Saundry & Duncan Lewis (2021): Breaking up the 'precariat': Personalisation, differentiation and deindividuation in precarious work groups. In: Economic and Industrial Democracy, Jg. 42, H. 3, S. 828-851. DOI:10.1177/0143831X18814625
Abstract
"Much-debated and researched, the subject of precarious work remains at the forefront of academic and policy discourses. A development of current interest is the reported growth of employment flexibility and increase in non-standard and atypical work, regarded by some as contributing to the emergence of a class-like 'precariat' of insecure and marginalised workers. However, this precariat framework remain largely untested and underexplored. Using in-depth narratives from 77 semi-structured interviews with workers from groups within the precariat spectrum, in this article the authors address this gap. The study finds that cohesion within and between these groups is overstated, and worker collectivisation far from apparent. As a result, this diversity of group dynamics, attitudes and experiences challenges not only negative conceptualisations of the precariat in the literature, but the theoretical validity of the precariat framework itself." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Commercial airline pilots' declining professional standing and increasing precarious employment (2021)
Zitatform
Maxwell, G. A. & K. Grant (2021): Commercial airline pilots' declining professional standing and increasing precarious employment. In: The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Jg. 32, H. 7, S. 1486-1508. DOI:10.1080/09585192.2018.1528473
Abstract
"With the advent of low-cost employment systems for pilots in commercial airlines, we address two questions: What are experienced UK-based, commercial airline pilots’ perspectives on their current professional standing? What are their perspectives on current precarious employment in commercial airline piloting? Analysis of qualitative data from 28 pilots in commercial, passenger carrying airlines reveals declining professional standing and increasing precarious employment, alongside enduring aspects of professionalism. The corollary is that precarious professional employment is an emerging, pervasive type of low-cost employment system in the studied context. In terms of theoretical implications, our study highlights the need for exactness in understanding the complexities of declining professional standing and increasingly precarious employment. Our analysis offers an exact term, pilot-cariat, to encapsulate contemporary, UK-based and experienced commercial airline pilot employment. Further research may reveal more of what we call cariats in other occupations with responsibility for lives in similarly cost constrained and management agency contexts." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Fighting precarious work with institutional power: Union inclusion and its limits across spheres of action (2021)
Zitatform
O'Brady, Sean (2021): Fighting precarious work with institutional power: Union inclusion and its limits across spheres of action. In: BJIR, Jg. 59, H. 4, S. 1084-1107. DOI:10.1111/bjir.12596
Abstract
"Research shows that union inclusion is critical to resisting precariousness, yet the role of institutional power is not adequately addressed. Through an investigation of eight retailers in four countries, this study uniquely examines how inclusive union strategies, cost competition and institutional power interact in different ‘spheres of action’. In the product market sphere, unions struggle to prevent labour cost competition between firms from eroding working conditions. In the production sphere, unions struggle to prevent labour cost competition between workers in a single firm from eroding working conditions. This article finds that multi‐level sources of institutional power are a precursor to effective union inclusion and articulating action towards threats from cost competition. I thereby argue that union efforts to resist precarious work are contingent on access to power from institutions. The article concludes with reflections on how institutional power relates to other forms of power." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Drivers of Youth Labour Market Integration Across European Regions (2021)
Zitatform
Padrosa, Eva, Mireia Bolíbar, Mireia Julià & Joan Benach (2021): Drivers of Youth Labour Market Integration Across European Regions. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 154, H. 3, S. 893-915. DOI:10.1007/s11205-020-02539-w
Abstract
"Comparing precarious employment (PE) across countries is essential to deepen the understanding of the phenomenon and to learn from country-specific experiences. However, this is hampered by the lack of internationally meaningful measures of PE. We aim to address this point by assessing the measurement invariance (MI) of the Employment Precariousness Scale for Europe (EPRES-E), an adaptation of the EPRES construct in the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS). EPRES-E consists of 13 proxy-indicators sorted into six dimensions: temporariness, disempowerment, vulnerability, wages, exercise of rights, unpredictable working times. Drawing on EWCS-2015, MI of the second-order factor model was tested in a sample of 31,340 formal employees by means of (a) multi-group confirmatory factor analyses, and (b) the substantive exploration of EPRES-E mean scores in each country. The results demonstrate that threshold invariance holds for the first-order structure (dimensions) of 22 countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK), but only metric invariance is attained by the second-order structure. The latter is supported by the exploration of mean scores, where we found that different score patterns in each dimension lead to similar overall EPRES-E scores, suggesting that PE is configured by different sources within the six dimensions in each country according to their broader socio-political trajectories. We conclude that, although EPRES-E can be used for comparative purposes in 22 European countries, the scores of each dimension must be reported alongside the overall EPRES-E score." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Inhabiting the Self-Work Romantic Utopia: Positive Psychology, Life Coaching, and the Challenge of Self-Fulfillment at Work (2021)
Zitatform
Pagis, Michal (2021): Inhabiting the Self-Work Romantic Utopia: Positive Psychology, Life Coaching, and the Challenge of Self-Fulfillment at Work. In: Work and occupations, Jg. 48, H. 1, S. 40-69. DOI:10.1177/0730888420911683
Abstract
"Much has been said about the rise of work as a central identity marker in modern society. With the recent popularization of self-help and positive psychology, this identity marker broadened its signification to include new emotional needs such as love and passion, creating a new cultural imaginary: the “self-work romantic utopia.” Sociological studies have criticized this utopia as a myth that serves capitalist neoliberal structures, leading to frustration and self-blame. However, little is known about how workers themselves confront this myth and the strategies they employ when attempting to inhabit it in today’s precarious job market. Based on 60 in-depth interviews with upper-middle class Israeli workers who hired life coaches to improve their work experience, the author identifies five strategies used to inhabit this romantic utopia: starting over, healing, idealization, polygamy, and vision. Through the analysis of these strategies, the author illustrates how even the relatively privileged workers need to adapt the self-work romantic utopia to their life circumstances, inhabiting the myth in partial degrees. Such flexible implementation turns the “myth” into a cultural tool that directs workers’ lives and actions even in a precarious, unstable job market, maintaining subjective experiences of agency in a sphere characterized by growing structural constraints. Yet paradoxically, these strategies eventually strengthen the precarious, noncommitted, and individual-oriented structure of the job market, yielding flexible, individualistic solutions that replace workplace responsibility." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))