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Nonstandard, Mismatched, and Precarious Work

David S. Pedulla

in Making the Cut: Hiring Decisions, Bias, and the Consequences of Nonstandard, Mismatched, and Precarious Employment

This chapter considers what nonstandard, mismatched, and precarious employment can entail and details the changing nature of the broader economy. There is a growing emphasis on the institutional ... More

This chapter considers what nonstandard, mismatched, and precarious employment can entail and details the changing nature of the broader economy. There is a growing emphasis on the institutional arrangements and changes that have resulted in economic strain and anxiety for many workers in the United States. The chapter delves into the ways that these nonstandard, mismatched, and precarious employment experiences are evaluated by employers during the hiring process. It also provides basic definitions and background information about these types of employment experiences and how they overlap with race and gender divisions in the labor market. Finally, the chapter examines the existing scholarship on changes over time in these positions and how they impact the lives of workers, their families, and the organizations where they labor.Less

The Age of Increased Precarious Employment: Origins and Implications

Wayne Lewchuk

in Working in the Context of Austerity: Challenges and Struggles

This chapter explores why employment rules and norms took the form they did, the prevalence of precarious employment in the labour market today, and the social implications of the era of Increased ... More

This chapter explores why employment rules and norms took the form they did, the prevalence of precarious employment in the labour market today, and the social implications of the era of Increased Precarious Employment. The employment norms associated with the era of Increased Precarious Employment represent one component of a broader shift to a neoliberal form of social organization. The chapter begins by reviewing the factors that led to the transition from the Standard Employment Relationship and the forces that shaped the employment relationship in the era of Increased Precarious Employment. It then examines debates over how to measure the prevalence of the precarious workforce, before considering the impact of precarious employment on households, families, and communities. The chapter looks at the findings of the Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario research group.Less

Labor Force Insecurity and U.S. Work Attitudes, 1970s–2006

Arne L. Kalleberg and Peter V. Marsden

in Social Trends in American Life: Findings from the General Social Survey since 1972

This chapter considers subjective well-being at work—both perceived security and job satisfaction. Recent changes in U.S. economic organization have made employment more precarious. Jobs are viewed ... More

This chapter considers subjective well-being at work—both perceived security and job satisfaction. Recent changes in U.S. economic organization have made employment more precarious. Jobs are viewed as less secure than in past decades, after adjusting for cyclical variations in unemployment. Insecurity appears to have grown fastest among the upper socioeconomic groups that historically have been least at risk of job loss. In keeping with happiness trends, though, job satisfaction remained very stable between the 1970s and 2000s. Gains in satisfaction during the course of employment countered lower satisfaction among cohorts of young workers entering the labor force. Present-day workers regard their jobs as less secure, but dissatisfaction need not follow if they regard precarity as a to-be-expected condition of employment.Less

Precarious employment and EU employment regulation

Julia S. O'Connor

in Social Policy Review 25: Analysis and debate in social policy, 2013

One of the differences between the unemployment in the recessions of the 1980s and now is that there was a much clearer distinction then between being ‘in’ and ‘out’ of work. Julia S. O’Connor's ... More

One of the differences between the unemployment in the recessions of the 1980s and now is that there was a much clearer distinction then between being ‘in’ and ‘out’ of work. Julia S. O’Connor's chapter is concerned with the space between these two points, occupied by the flexible and insecure forms of employment that have emerged in deindustrialising economies and become a component of the European growth strategy. Having explored the forms of precarious employment, and further dimensions to precarity, the chapter assesses the extent to which the existing regulation of non-standard employment at the EU level provides any security for those involved in precarious work. The conclusions are not encouraging for the protection of precarious workers and a clear association between precarity in employment and existing lack of power in the labour market is identified. Thus, women, young people and migrant workers are all disproportionately represented in the most precarious forms of employment, patterns of social division that are present in the concerns of all the chapters in this section.Less

Disrupted labour markets: Health opportunities for some, health risks for others

Ronald Labonté and Arne Ruckert

in Health Equity in a Globalizing Era: Past Challenges, Future Prospects

The search for employment is one of the major drivers behind migration. Globalization processes have had profound impacts on the world’s labour markets, creating opportunities for some (through ... More

The search for employment is one of the major drivers behind migration. Globalization processes have had profound impacts on the world’s labour markets, creating opportunities for some (through out-sourcing) while dislocating work for others. This global redistribution of labour is not motivated by concerns for the livelihoods of workers so much as by the pursuit of profits by transnationally liberated capital. Net effects include increases in precarious work, declines in labour’s share of global economic product, and a continuous ‘flexibilization’ of labour markets excused by competitive pressures. Such changes bring new health risks associated with insecurity for many and downwards pressure on wages for some. International policy discourse lauds efforts to improve social protection measures for affected workers, while the growing gap between productivity and wages is giving rise to a call for universal basic incomes to compensate for globalization’s victory of capital over labour.Less

Extended working life, gender and precarious work in Ireland

Áine Ní Léime, Nata Duvvury, and Caroline Finn

in Gender, Ageing and Extended Working Life: Cross-National Perspectives

This chapter discusses extended working life policies in Ireland from a critical gender and life course perspective. It provides a contextualised discussion of the current nature of women's ... More

This chapter discusses extended working life policies in Ireland from a critical gender and life course perspective. It provides a contextualised discussion of the current nature of women's participation in the labour market, including diversity of occupation and employment status and family friendly policies and discuss how this shapes pension provision. The structure of the pension system is outlined describing women's current outcomes in terms of the type and level of pensions. Next is a discussion of reforms that have been introduced to pensions and employment policy and a consideration of the likely gender implications of these reforms, drawing on experiences in other countries and the OECD's projections. Finally, undertaking new analysis of the most recent data available, the impact of the recession, particularly on precarious employment among older workers is assessed and the impact of health disparities on employment and pension prospects is considered. Possible alternative policy approaches and/or modifications that would ensure that gender equality as well as cost-containment is pursued, are considered.Less

The Limits of Voluntary Employer Action for Improving Low-Level Jobs

Susan J. Lambert

in Working and Living in the Shadow of Economic Fragility

The practices employers use to contain labor costs in low-level hourly jobs fuel economic insecurity and income inequality. Because labor costs in hourly jobs are mostly variable, not fixed, ... More

The practices employers use to contain labor costs in low-level hourly jobs fuel economic insecurity and income inequality. Because labor costs in hourly jobs are mostly variable, not fixed, employers have an incentive to minimize the use of labor, placing workers at risk of underemployment, unpredictable schedules, and turnover. Although problems with worker performance abound when job quality is low, many of today’s jobs sever the link between worker performance and firm profitability, rendering voluntary improvement by employers unlikely. This chapter considers two strategies to improve the quality of low-level jobs by increasing the fixed costs of labor: requiring employers to guarantee employees a minimum number of hours and to offer the same benefits to all employees. Increasing fixed costs could provide the nudge employers need to manage rather than minimize, or externalize, the costs of labor in jobs at the front lines of today’s firms.Less

Precarious Employment in the Public Sector: How Neoliberal Practices Preceded Ideology

Michal Tabibian-Mizrahi

Michael Shalev (ed.)

in Neoliberalism as a State Project: Changing the Political Economy of Israel

This case study of precarious employment in public hospitals shows that the adoption of neoliberal practices was a gradual process whose roots can be traced to earlier decades. Innovative and even ... More

This case study of precarious employment in public hospitals shows that the adoption of neoliberal practices was a gradual process whose roots can be traced to earlier decades. Innovative and even revolutionary changes in civil service hiring practices emerged in the early 1960s, gathering momentum in the subsequent decade. In this domain, at least, neoliberal practices preceded the neoliberal ideological shift, and helped pave the way for the latter’s assimilation. At the same time, being conferred with significance and legitimacy assisted the further growth of precarity in the public sector. This dialectic of ideas and organizational practices constituted an important mechanism entrenching neoliberal modes of employment within the state.Less

Counting the uncounted: contestations over casualisation data in Australian universities

Nour Dados, James Goodman, and Keiko Yasukawa

in Data in Society: Challenging Statistics in an Age of Globalisation

Recently, insecure work in universities in many countries has grown exponentially, alongside the rapid marketization of higher education. Reflecting the neoliberal ideal of a flexible workforce, ... More

Recently, insecure work in universities in many countries has grown exponentially, alongside the rapid marketization of higher education. Reflecting the neoliberal ideal of a flexible workforce, research and teaching at universities is routinely carried out by precariously-employed academics. In Australia, for instance, the bulk of university teaching is now carried out by hourly-paid employees. This structural dependence on precarious academics poses a reputational problem for universities, and universities respond by obfuscating the statistical evidence. We present a case study of tracking down the level of this phenomenon in Australian higher education. The academics’ trade union and allies have used the university-level figures to challenge the advance of academic job insecurity, and are now highlighting the incidence of precarious academic employment nationally. Our own work has highlighted the multiple and conflicting figures being reported by universities, and the systematic underestimation of the actual rate of insecure jobs reported by government departments. We question these unreliable estimates, examples of neoliberalism’s ‘funny numbers’, and develop alternative data and arguments Thereby, we aim to reveal the impact of casualisation and enable critical evaluation of trends in the higher education sector, so as to restore industrial justice.Less

Social innovation and employment

Simone Baglioni and Stephen Sinclair

in Social Innovation and Social Policy: Theory, Policy and Practice

This chapter discusses examples of social innovations which address unemployment: an issue of long-standing concern for many governments and an area of considerable policy activity. The chapter ... More

This chapter discusses examples of social innovations which address unemployment: an issue of long-standing concern for many governments and an area of considerable policy activity. The chapter begins by outlining the growing incidence of precarious and low paid employment in many developed economies. Governments have been particularly concerned about the problem of youth unemployment and ‘NEETs’: young people who are not in employment, education or training. A favoured response to these problems have been so-called ‘active’ labour market programmes and initiatives which intended to enhance the ‘employability’ of unemployed people by improving their skills, experience and qualifications. The chapter describes examples of such initiatives which social innovations have developed with public and private sector with partners. The chapter discusses variations in the approaches and roles which social innovations take in employment policy between neo-Corporatist, Social Democratic and Liberal/Pluralist welfare regimesLess

Privatizing the sacrifice: individualized funding, austerity and precarity in the voluntary sector in Australia and Scotland

Donna Baines, Ian Cunningham, Philip James, and Chandrima Roy

in The Changing Politics and Policy of Austerity

This chapter explores austerity in relation to two major pieces of social policy recently introduced in Australia and Scotland, namely the National Disabilities Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and ... More

This chapter explores austerity in relation to two major pieces of social policy recently introduced in Australia and Scotland, namely the National Disabilities Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Personalisation Self-Directed Care. Claiming to promote human rights and consumer choice, both policies introduce cash-for-care packages that significantly change for service users, the female-majority workforce, and the organisations providing services. Consistent with austerity, need for service outstrips supply, labour markets are being rapidly restructured to offer increasingly precarious and degraded employment, including the emergence of gig work in the Australia example, and service organisations in Scotland that are unable to remain solvent in the austerity-led funding regimes. Ideological themes associated with austerity underlie and are reinforced in these programs including a state-led argument that sacrifices, patience and understanding are required of service users while the programs are painstakingly rolled-out and funding packages assessed, reassessed, awarded, and denied. Rather than protecting and empowering service users and workers under these policies, the government has instigated the further privatization of services, and the deepening of insecurity.Less

France: Rising Precariousness Supported by the Welfare State

Philippe Askenazy and Bruno Palier

in Inequality and Inclusive Growth in Rich Countries: Shared Challenges and Contrasting Fortunes

This chapter describes France as apparently one of the few rich countries to have avoided a significant increase in income inequality in recent decades. However, stable average inequalities mask an ... More

This chapter describes France as apparently one of the few rich countries to have avoided a significant increase in income inequality in recent decades. However, stable average inequalities mask an asymmetric trend of income between age groups, the elderly improving their situation while the young see theirs worsening. Furthermore, it shows that behind this relatively still surface, a general trend of precarization of more and more ordinary workers is occurring. The importance of wage-setting processes and of regulation of the labour market is brought out, together with the way the tax and transfer systems have operated, in restraining the forces driving inequality upwards. Wage growth, while limited, has thus been reasonably uniform across the distribution and together with the redistributive system have kept household income inequality within bounds. However, in response to high unemployment both regulatory and tax–transfer systems have served to underpin the very rapid growth in precarious working over the last decade, representing a very serious challenge for policy.Less

‘Choice’ and ‘fairness’: the hollow core in industrial relations policy

John Buchanan and Damian Oliver

in Australian public policy: Progressive ideas in the neo-liberal ascendency

This chapter charts the evolution of industrial relations (IR) policy in Australia. It argues the Industrial Relations Reform Act introduced by the Keating Labor Government in 1993 marked the turning ... More

This chapter charts the evolution of industrial relations (IR) policy in Australia. It argues the Industrial Relations Reform Act introduced by the Keating Labor Government in 1993 marked the turning point in IR policy, signalling a shift in underlying ideology from liberal collectivism to neoliberalism. In practice, this has meant IR policy is now directed towards the efficiency of bargaining at the firm and individual level and less concerned with coordinating employers and trade unions to deliver fair outcomes between and within industries. Consequently the IR framework lacks the means to address erosion of union representation rights, insecure employment and wage inequality.Less

Reducing the burden: international struggles against illegitimate debt

Christoph Sorg

in The Changing Politics and Policy of Austerity

Austerity measures have faced one of the biggest and most dynamic waves of protest in recent decades. While a pluralism of issues converged in the occupied squares of 2011, such as stagnating wages, ... More

Austerity measures have faced one of the biggest and most dynamic waves of protest in recent decades. While a pluralism of issues converged in the occupied squares of 2011, such as stagnating wages, housing rights, political corruption etc., debt constituted one of the pivotal themes of claim-making. From the sudden contraction of financial markets precipitating household debt traps, bankruptcies and evictions, to the devastating effects of austerity justified by sovereign debt crises, the issue of debt reflected larger questions of democratic decision-making and economic life. This brief contribution aims to situate debt-centered movements and the issue of debt within more and less recent anti-austerity struggles. These movements challenge the neoliberal notion that all “debts have to be paid” and additionally blame creditors as well as rules privileging creditors for existing debt burden instead of supposed failures by debtors. By way of observing actually existing movements and their practices we can also get a better view of existing alternatives to austerity and neoliberal debt politics in different countries.Less

Conclusion

Stephen McBride, Dieter Plehwe, and Bryan Evans

in The Changing Politics and Policy of Austerity

Concluding remarks.