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Abstract Background Working in the healthcare sector seems less interesting than other sectors: the salary is low relative to the demands of the labour involved, and working conditions as well as management are perceived as poor. These factors may have an impact on the well-being of nurses in the healthcare sector. This study aims to explore the relationship between precarious employment and occupational well-being, in addition to the moderating effect of having a calling in this relationship among younger and older nurses. Methods Cross-sectional survey data were collected among Finnish nurses (n = 5867) between October and November 2020. Data were collected on demographics, occupational well-being, precarious employment, and having a calling in the field. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to explore the associations. Results Younger nurses perceived lower levels of occupational well-being and calling, and higher levels of precarious employment compared to older nurses. Precarious employment had a negative relationship with occupational well-being, and having a calling showed a positive relationship with regard to occupational well-being. No interaction effect of precarious employment and having a calling with occupational well-being was found. Conclusions Young nurses’ occupational well-being, precarious employment, and calling should be studied further because they are in a weaker position in working life. Using a qualitative approach should be considered in order to obtain more in-depth information.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the mediating effect of the psychosocial work environment on the association between precarious employment (PE) and increased risk of common mental disorders (CMD), substance use disorders and suicide attempts. METHODS: This longitudinal register-study was based on the working population of Sweden, aged 25–60 years in 2005 (N=2 552 589). Mediation analyses based on a decomposition of counterfactual effects were used to estimate the indirect effect of psychosocial risk factors (PRF) (mediators, measured in 2005) on the association between PE (exposure, measured in 2005) and the first diagnosis of CMD, substance use disorders, and suicide attempts occurring over 2006–2017. RESULTS: The decomposition of effects showed that the indirect effect of the PRF is practically null for the three outcomes considered, among both sexes. PE increased the odds of being diagnosed with CMD, substance use disorders, and suicide attempts, among both men and women. After adjusting for PE, low job control increased the odds of all three outcomes among both sexes, while high job demands decreased the odds of CMD among women. High job strain increased the odds of CMD and suicide attempts among men, while passive job increased the odds of all three outcomes among women. CONCLUSION: The results of this study did not provide evidence for the hypothesis that psychosocial risks could be the pathways linking precarious employment with workers` mental health. Future studies in different social contexts and labour markets are needed.

The rise of precarious work generates important questions about how this mode of employment might affect young workers' transition to adulthood, particularly their decision to live independently. Existing demographic literature has considered the impact of unemployment on parental coresidence but overlooked the potential influence of precarious employment. Yet, features of precarious employment might matter for young adults' residential arrangements. Our paper provides a theoretical framework linking precarious work to parental coresidence. Specifically, we outline three mechanisms that underlie this relationship: low pay, meager benefits, and short job tenure. Using longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth from 2005 to 2017, we provide empirical support for our model. We found that precariously employed young adults are more likely than their peers in standard jobs to live with their parents. About a third of this effect can be accounted for by the three theorized mechanisms. Our research contributes to the growing literature demonstrating the impact of economic insecurity on the workplace and family, the two essential arenas of social life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent changes in the relationship between the postponement of the statutory retirement age, pension participation, and the precariousness of employment in China may conceal the lasting negative effects on workers' current and ongoing welfare. Grounded on China's normalised precarious employment with individualisation, insecurity, and instability, and identifying the current Urban Employee Basic Pension (UEBP) as based on traditional industrialism, the empirical evidence from 68 workers in precarious employment shows how limited UEBP participation even extends working life. Under the institutionalised inequality of UEBP, and without long-term coworkers who can promote understanding of the system, the uncertainties of future livelihood and "voluntary" participation in the UEBP (re)shape the rationality of precarious workers towards minimum participation. Hence, raising the statutory retirement ages is unlikely to improve their UEBP participation, but rather lengthen the period of precarious employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the longitudinal association between multi-dimensionally measured precarious employment (PE) trajectories and mental health among older employees in Germany. METHODS: Current data from the German lidA study was used, including panel cases, who participated in all four survey waves (2011, 2014, 2018, 2022). The study comprised 1636 subjects, aged 46 and 52 years at baseline. Group-based trajectory modelling was used to model PE trajectories based on a score combining multiple items from the dimensions employment insecurity and income inadequacy. The association between PE trajectories (2011–2022) and mental health (2022) was tested using weighted logistic regression. RESULTS: We identified a PE trajectory with upward movement that best described 13.6% of the study sample. Representation in this group was socially unequally distributed with noticeably larger shares of female, lower-educated and lower-skilled workers in PE. Women following this trajectory had increased odds [odds ratio (OR) 1.68–1.82] of reporting poor mental health in 2022 compared to their counterparts in constant non-PE. This was not the case for men (OR 0.37–0.51). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight horizontal and vertical inequalities with respect to exposure to and consequences of PE. Future labor market reforms should improve protection of women, who will likely be disadvantaged by accumulating employment-related mental health risks over the course of their lives.

Research on the health and well-being impact of precarious employment (PE) commonly conceptualizes employment as a relation of power between workers and employers, a perspective informed by power relations and relational social class theories. Social reproduction theory is a less common but complementary conceptual lens that can be used to investigate PE and health, in which the nature of work has relevance for the quality of employment. Social reproduction theory points to relations between groups of workers who are valued differently based on the capacity of their work to generate profit. Attending to relations between workers based on value, in addition to the well-established power relation between workers and employers, may point to consequences for health and well-being that are worth exploring empirically, and could serve as another tool to spur collective action around PE and its health effects. We provide an illustration and discuss the potential implications of this theoretical approach using data from in-depth interviews conducted in 2022 among precariously employed food workers in New York City.

The subject of the present study is the relationship between sustainable and precarious employment and their scale in the Russian economy. The topic of the article is “Sustainable and precarious employment in the Russian Federation”. The aim of the study is to consider the characteristics of sustainable and precarious employment through the prism of the extended and traditional concepts of the labour force and to determine their scale in the whole of the Russian Federation and in individual sectors of employment on the basis of objective indicators of precarious employment substantiated and verified by the authors. The research methodology is based on a qualitative and quantitative analysis and synthesis of the characteristics of sustainable and precarious employment, including consideration of the extended and traditional concepts of the labour force, the classification of modern employment, as well as the verification of its indicators and their variable application. The scope of the research results is to develop consensus methodological approaches to the study of sustainable and precarious employment, as well as their regulation by government authorities. The authors concluded that precarious employment in the Russian Federation is widespread, which reduces the quality of employment and requires legislative and practical restrictions.

In this study, we examined the relationship of precarious employment (PE) with depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among Korean women. We included a nationwide sample of 4162 women drawn from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Women and Families, comprising 7566 observations. PE was assessed using three dimensions: employment insecurity, income inadequacy, and lack of rights and protection. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate the association between each element of PE and the depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation over a two-year follow-up period, represented as odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals (CIs). The overall prevalence rates of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation were 11.8 % and 1.9 %, respectively. Compared with permanent employment, fixed-term employment (OR [95 % CI]:1.29 [1.00–1.67]) or daily employment (OR [95 % CI]:1.53 [1.26–1.99]) was associated with the depressive symptoms at the follow-up. Additionally, lack of social benefits (OR [95 % CI]:1.40 [1.09–1.79]) and high perceived vulnerability (OR [95 % CI]:1.27 [1.08–1.49]) were associated with the depressive symptoms at the follow-up. Additionally, daily employment was associated with the suicidal ideation at the follow-up (OR [95 % CI]:1.94 [1.02–3.68]) and high perceived vulnerability was marginally associated with an increased suicidal ideation risk (OR [95 % CI]:1.49 [0.98–2.29]). Causal effect of PE could not be asserted due to the observational nature of this study. PE is a social determinant of women's mental health and policy interventions are required to improve their employment conditions. • We examined the association between precarious employment (PE) and mental health problems among female workers. • Lack of social benefits and high perceived vulnerability were prospectively associated with depressive symptom. • Temporary employment was prospectively associated with both depressive symptom and suicidal ideation. • Policy interventions are required to improve the mental health and working conditions of women with precarious employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precarious employment (PE), which encompasses the power relations between workers and employers, is a well-established social determinant of health that has strong ramifications for health and health inequity. In this review, we discuss advances in the measurement of this multidimensional construct and provide recommendations for overcoming continued measurement challenges. We then evaluate recent evidence of the negative health impacts of PE, with a focus on the burgeoning studies from North America and South America. We also establish the role of PE in maintaining and perpetuating health inequities and review potential policy solutions to help alleviate its health burden. Last, we discuss future research directions with a call for a better understanding of the heterogeneity within PE and for research that focuses both on upstream drivers that shape PE and its impacts on health, as well as on the mechanisms by which PE causes poor health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orientation: The study explored the employment experiences of contract academic staff working in universities. Research purpose: This study aimed to explore higher education employment practices experienced by contract academic staff. Recommendations for fair and inclusive human resource practices to address negative employee experiences was offered. Motivation for the study: Research on employment practices and non-standard employment arrangements in the South African context are scant and outdated. Consequently, it is important to shed light on the experience of contract academic staff in universities given the widespread practice of employing contract academic staff in the sector. Research approach/design and method: A qualitative research approach was employed. A total of 26 temporary employed contract academic staff members from 15 different departments across three institutions of higher education in South Africa participated in semi-structured interviews. Main findings: The findings of this study highlight how contract academic staff experience being employed in universities. The themes identified were, a lack of job orientation and onboarding, last-minute contract offers, vague contract terms, lack of employment benefits, lack of rights and legal standing, limited career development and funding opportunities, unfair work demands, lack of performance feedback, and lack of human resources and organisational support. Practical/managerial implications: Understanding the influence of university employment practices on contract academic staff will aid Human Resources Departments in re-evaluating policy and practice to combat the negative effects thereof. Particularly, how the employment contract process is managed, the lack of support available to staff, and the general disregard for the value that this category of staff adds to the academic offering. Contribution/value-add: This study provides valuable insight for improving policies and practices that enhance the employment experience of contract academic staff in universities.

The literature focusing on young people's negotiations of precarious employment has tended to split between material and symbolic resources and has mainly stressed coping mechanisms, which support young people's ability to persist in precariousness at work as opposed to resisting precariousness and demanding change. Analysing interviews with 20 socially marginalised young women working in the Israeli service and care sector we could validate earlier scholarly emphasis on those resources which build young people's capacity to bear precarious employment. These were topped; however, by young women's knowledge of workers' rights and labour law which we interpreted as a symbolic resource building self-advocacy and the capacity to demand change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE Precarious employment, defined by temporary contracts, unstable employment, or job insecurity, is increasingly common and is associated with inconsistent access to benefits, lower income, and greater exposure to physical and psycholosocial hazards. Clinicians can benefit from a simple approach to screen for precarious employment to improve their understanding of a patient's social context, help with diagnoses, and inform treatment plans and intersectional interventions. Our objective was to validate a screening tool for precarious employment. METHODS We used a 3-item screening tool that covered key aspects of precarious employment: non-standard employment, variable income, and violations of occupational health and safety rights and protections. Answers were compared with classification using the Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario Employment Index. Participants were aged 18 years and older, fluent in English, and employed. They were recruited in 7 primary care clinic waiting rooms in Toronto, Canada over 12 months. RESULTS A total of 204 people aged 18-72 years (mean 38 [SD 11.3]) participated, of which 93 (45.6%) identified as men and 119 (58.3%) self-reported as White. Participants who reported 2 or more of the 3 items as positive were almost 4 times more likely to be precariously employed (positive likelihood ratio = 3.84 [95% CI, 2.15-6.80]). CONCLUSIONS A 3-item screening tool can help identify precarious employment. Our tool is useful for starting a conversation about employment precarity and work conditions in clinical settings. Implementation of this screening tool in health settings could enable better targeting of resources for managing care and connecting patients to legal and employment support services. Key words: employment; health inequities; primary care; screening; social determinants of health, INTRODUCTION Employment is a key social determinant of health, impacting income, access to basic necessities, and social status. (1) Employment typically determines a person's income, ability to afford necessities, and [...]

Haiyan Zhong, Jingbo Xu School of Marxism, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jingbo Xu, No. 600 Changjiang Road, Xiangfang District, Harbin City, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13633611611, Email xujingbo1329@163.comPurpose: The transition from school to work is an important stage in the career development of university students, and precarious employment during this period can significantly impact their early career success. In today’s unstable employment environment, this study examines how employment instability during the transition from school to work directly and indirectly affects college students’ subjective career success. This contributes to a thorough understanding of this transitional period and provides university students with the necessary resources to cope with a smooth transition from school to work.Patients and Methods: We recruited senior students at five universities in Harbin, China, from May to July 2022. After obtaining participants’ consent, questionnaires were distributed via social media, resulting in 967 valid questionnaires. Based on this sample, we examined the chain mediating effect of financial stress and occupational self-efficacy in the association between precarious employment and career success and the moderating effect of employability.Results: The study found that precarious employment hurts career success and can also affect career success by increasing financial stress and decreasing occupational self-efficacy among college students. At the same time, financial stress can also decrease students’ self-efficacy. Finally, employability can reduce the adverse effects of precarious employment on career success and occupational self-efficacy.Conclusion: The link between employment instability and subjective career success during the transition from school to work has been demonstrated for university students. Employment instability not only increases college students’ financial stress but also reduces career self-efficacy, which in turn affects college students’ perceptions of early subjective career success. Importantly, employability plays a positive role in the smooth school-to-work transition and subjective career success of university students.Keywords: school-to-work transition, precarious employment, career success, financial stress

Introduction. Rapid social changes and new challenges are increasingly transforming all spheres of human life. These factors affect not only the labor market and the general nature of professional activities, but also educational approaches to training specialists in the higher education system. Modern university graduates should possess competencies that meet diverse employer expectations. At the same time, universities are becoming “factories” for the production of graduates focused on precarious employment, since the uncertainty in the type of employment caused by global transformations in the labor market is reorienting the higher education system, thereby changing the vector of educational activity. Aim – analysis of studentsʼ orientations towards precarious employment and identification of the role of universities in their development. Materials and Methods. In 2021, an empirical sociological survey was conducted. The survey sample included 716 learners studying at Yekaterinburg universities, who were interviewed using a questionnaire. In order to elucidate the process of forming studentsʼ orientation towards precarious employment and the role of universities therein, we used semi-formalized interviews with young people whose activities in the labor market could be characterized as atypical employment, as well as with heads of educational programs and curators of projectoriented programs at the Ural Federal University. In addition, the results of a study conducted in 2020–2021 among university graduates in the Ural region were used. Results. Uncertainty in the labor market, secondary employment and involvement of university students in project-oriented activities form their following work preferences: the desire for atypical forms of employment, irregular working hours, and free work schedules. Discussion and Conclusion. The conclusions made by the authors expand the understanding of the needs of young people in the labor market and the transformation of university education in conditions of uncertainty. The materials of the article contribute to the development of sociological knowledge and can be useful to management and administrative structures of Russian universities.

Background: Employment outcomes among sexual minority (i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual) workers are poorly understood, and previous research on this topic has focused almost exclusively on inequities in earnings, neglecting other important dimensions of job quality. We address this gap by describing and comparing the job quality of straight and sexual minority workers in Canada. Methods: Data are from the 2016 General Social Survey: Canadians at Work and Home, the only national survey providing both a measure of sexual orientation and a multidimensional view of job quality in Canada. We identified 25 unique job quality indicators (e.g., temporary employment; job insecurity; health benefits; low income; job satisfaction; job control; discrimination). Latent class cluster analysis was used to establish a typology of job quality describing standard, flexible, and precarious employment types. We used multivariable regression methods to examine the association between sexual orientation and job quality. Results: Sexual minorities reported lower job quality than their straight counterparts along many dimensions, with bisexual people reporting the lowest job quality. While inequities were generally observed among both sexual minority men and women, they sometimes differed in magnitude by gender. The prevalence of precarious employment was nearly three times higher among lesbian, gay, and bisexual workers (PR: 2.94, CI: 1.89–4.58 among all sexual minorities; PR: 3.04, CI: 1.71–5.43 among gay/lesbian workers; and PR: 2.81, CI: 1.45–5.47 among bisexual workers) compared to their straight counterparts. Conclusion: Inequities in job quality among sexual minorities persist despite comprehensive human rights protections in Canada. These inequities are pervasive, extending well beyond conventional indicators such as dollars earned and hours worked. Multi-pronged interventions are needed that move beyond simply ensuring that sexual minority workers are employed. Sexual minority workers deserve access to secure, well-paid work with benefits where they can foster connection and be free from discrimination.

This article describes how discourses of professionalism, insecurity, and exploitation among English as a second language/English for Academic Purposes (hereinafter ESL/EAP) instructors and curriculum-level administrators at two Canadian universities relate to their understanding of fair work. These understandings are examined in a nested manner, in keeping with social positioning theory. Via discourse and thematic analysis of job advertisements and semi-structured interviews, we illuminate aspects of the gigification of ESL/EAP in Canada, wherein ESL/EAP instructor work is increasingly rendered un(der)paid, constantly evaluated, surveilled, and precarious. Viewed through the lens of "magic time," an infinite category of work time, we document the frustrations of ESL/EAP instructors who recognize their own exploitation. The relevance of this study is described in relation to the growing numbers of international students at English-speaking universities throughout the world requiring a robust program infrastructure supporting their success, while the ESL/EAP instructors who provide these programs are increasingly made disposable through contingent employment relationships. The increasing reliance on contract professors teaching for-credit courses in higher education has come to be known as adjunctification. In the noncredit, the more marginal context of ESL/EAP instructors subject to the forces of international student supply and demand, underpaid even by contract faculty standards, and engaged in often cutthroat competition for the few remaining contracts, we reference contextual differences by calling it gigification.

This article is a review of the recently published collective monograph edited by corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor Zh. Toshchenko, titled “From precarious employment to precarization of life” (2022). The publication of the reviewed book was made possible thanks to financial assistance from “ARB-Forum M”. It is based on an extensive database of representative all-Russian sociological research conducted between 2014 and 2021. The two main goals of the book were: (a) to substantiate that “precarization of labor” has a pronounced tendency to project instability onto other areas of life; (b) to identify a creative and applied concept of “precarization of life” in relation to the emerging proto-class — the precariat. According to the reviewers, the author’s team managed, as usual, to give the reader a good understanding of the origins of how the precariat came about and its further development in society. At the same time, the authors of the work note that precarization is a complex phenomenon that should not be viewed through the prism of a single scientific discipline or sphere, as it was clearly illustrated to us in the book that precarization has already found its way into such spheres as healthcare, culture, education, politics, economics, household needs, i.e. into the public and private life of Russian people. But perhaps the most significant question is whether precarization can cease? The authors do not give the reader their own unambiguous answer to this question, but recognize that it is on the rise all around the world. In the reviewers’ opinion, this collective monograph makes a worthy contribution to the study of the precarization of life (and the precariat in general). At the end of the article, its authors summarize the main propositions of the book, briefly mentioning them, and also point out the weak and rather contradictory (controversial) sides of the reviewed monograph that require much more thorough study in the future.

This study presents findings from qualitative longitudinal research (QLR) conducted among young working-class Palestinian women citizens of Israel who were interviewed as high school students working in precarious employment and again five years later as they entered emerging adulthood. The study examined precarious employment during high school as a central axis that shapes the features of emerging adulthood over time among young working-class Palestinian women, within the dynamic between culture (traditional expectations) and education (self-realization). QLR makes it possible to examine the structures of barriers and resources at the intersection of gender, class, and ethnonationality over time. Employing the theoretical frameworks of vulnerability and precarity reveals that the features of emerging adulthood are anchored in economic, political, and cultural structures. Reliance on precarious employment and exploitative work environments during adolescence has far-reaching consequences throughout emerging adulthood. Young women are in a state of perpetual responsibility, doubly tasked with escaping poverty and pursuing higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There is a growing global interest in the issue of precarious employment. We aimed to analyze the characteristics and socio-demographic distribution of precarious employment using a summative score approach. Methods: To operationalize precarious employment, we utilized data from the Korean Working Conditions Survey and focused on three distinct dimensions: employment insecurity, income inadequacy, and a lack of rights and protections. By constructing a summative scale ranging from -16 to 2, with lower scores indicating higher precariousness, we measured employment precariousness among Korean wage workers. To compare employment precariousness according to survey participant characteristics, we employed the Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test. Results: We analyzed a weighted number of 38,432 workers. The overall sample showed a median (Q1, Q3) summative scale score of -3 (-6, -1). The median summative score was lower for women compared to men (men: -2; women: -5; p

This article presents synthesized evidence from 16 studies examining initiatives with potential to mitigate workers' exposure to precarious employment through the adoption of minimum wage policies. All studies were set in low-income countries and focused on both formal and informal workers. A systematic review of evaluated initiatives addressing precarious employment identified the evidence. We consider minimum wage policies as initiatives that could address precarious employment because of the central role of minimum wages in establishing employment terms for workers in precarious situations. We include initiatives aimed at formal and informal workers, given that precarious employment can exist in both sectors, that these workers share concerns regarding income and would benefit from minimum wage policies. The findings imply that minimum wage policies could increase precariously employed workers' financial compensation, although with some differences and with little or no effect on employment security. It is not feasible to extend these conclusions beyond low-income economies due to differences with high-income economies in how the mechanisms through which minimum wage policies could impact worker compensation and employment security. However, they should serve as a reminder for high-income economies, many of which experience expanding informal sectors, about the need for related research and policy., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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., (Copyright © 2024 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)