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The uncertain state of work in the U.S.: Profiles of decent work and precarious work.

ABSTRACT: This research utilized a person-centered approach to identify profiles of decent work and precarious work, which were explored due to their centrality in current debates about the uncertain state of work conditions in the U.S. Using the Decent Work Scale and the Precarious Work Scale, the following five profiles were identified from a sample of 492 working Americans: 1) Indecent-Precarious; 2) Highly Decent; 3) Low Health Care-Low Rights; 4) Vulnerability-Dominant; 5) Health Care-Stability. These profiles were further elaborated by examining the relationship of theoretically-informed predictors and outcomes that would distinguish profile membership. Using psychology of working theory as an organizing framework for determining predictors and outcomes, the findings revealed that work volition, age, income level, and educational level significantly predicted profile membership, and autonomy, social contribution, survival needs, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction differed meaningfully across the profiles. Implications for theory, research, practice, and public policy are discussed highlighting the complexity of work conditions and their relationship to various aspects of vocational and psychological functioning.

SUBMITTER: Blustein DL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7449123 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The uncertain state of work in the U.S.: Profiles of decent work and precarious work.

Blustein David L DL Perera Harsha N HN Diamonti A J AJ Gutowski Ellen E Meerkins Tera T Davila Alekzander A Erby Whitney W Konowitz Lily L

Journal of vocational behavior 20200826

This research utilized a person-centered approach to identify profiles of decent work and precarious work, which were explored due to their centrality in current debates about the uncertain state of work conditions in the U.S. Using the Decent Work Scale and the Precarious Work Scale, the following five profiles were identified from a sample of 492 working Americans: 1) Indecent-Precarious; 2) Highly Decent; 3) Low Health Care-Low Rights; 4) Vulnerability-Dominant; 5) Health Care-Stability. Thes ...[more]

PMID: 32868953

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Project description:The notion of decent work was developed by the International Labour Organization 20 years ago. The notion is now well known by lawyers, economists, and sociologists, and even if it appears difficult to define it clearly, it constitutes a useful general framework with which to think of the relationships between policy practices, work market globalization, and human rights principles. The fields of career guidance and counseling psychology are highly concerned by questions of social justice and human rights that people experience through work. Career choices being made in a liquid and unstable society, incompatibility between individualist values and collective work issues, increasing psychological health problems at work, work-family balance in precarious job situations, the growing necessity of mobility, adaptability or flexibility… all of these questions are at the heart of current career counseling practices, and concern the decent work debate. Nevertheless, the notion of decent work is not well developed in the field of vocational psychology. Despite its relevance, it is difficult to operationalize the policy and human rights principles during career counseling sessions. The article aims to explore the usefulness of the concept for career counselors, and to propose a psychosocial framework that incorporates decent work in career counseling practices. The first part of this article presents the theoretical bases of the notion of decent work and their possible use in the field of psychology. It deals with the necessity of a multilevel and psychosocial perspective, that takes into account both objective and subjective dimensions of decent work. The second part focuses on a case study illustrating how the notion of decent work emerges during counseling sessions. Four levels of the work experience linked with subjective and objective dimensions of decent work are explored; the personal level, the activity level, the collective level, and the social level. Finally, the third part discusses and proposes a framework based on the analysis of the four dimensions of work (activity, trade, others and society) in order to integrate a psychosocial view of decent work into career counseling.

Project description:Background: Precarious work is an increasingly common characteristic of industrialized labor markets that can widen health inequities, especially among disadvantaged workforce segments. Study objectives are to compare precarious employment in workers with and without disabilities, and to examine the modifying effect of disability in the relationships between age, job tenure and precarious work.Methods: Employed Canadians with (n?=?901) and without disabilities (n =?901) were surveyed on exposure to precarious working conditions. Information on age and job tenure were collected from respondents along with sociodemographic, health and work context details. Multivariable logistic models examined the association between disability and precarious work. Also, multigroup probit models examined precarious work for young (18-35?yrs), middle-aged (36-50?yrs) and older adults (>?50?yrs) and job tenure and was stratified by participants with and without disabilities.Results: Almost equal proportions of young, middle-aged and older participants were recruited. Mean job tenure of participants was 9.5?years (SD?=?9.0). Close to one-third of participants reported working precariously. At the multivariable level, a disability was not associated with working precariously. However, multigroup modelling indicated that disability was a significant effect-modifier. Older adults with a disability had a 1.88 times greater odds of reporting precarious work when compared to young adults (OR?=?1.88, 95%CI 1.19, 2.98). When reporting a disability, longer job tenure was related to a 0.95 times lower odds of precarious work (OR?=?0.95 95%CI 0.93, 0.98). The relationship between age and job tenure was not significant for those not reporting a disability.Discussion: Precarious work has the potential to affect workers with and without disabilities. For those with a disability, being an older adult and/or a new worker can contribute to a greater likelihood of being employed precariously. Policies and programs can be recommended to address precarious working conditions and related health inequities for people with disabilities based on life and career phase.

Project description:BackgroundPrecarious work is a broad definition for non-standard employment, often including unstable and insecure positions where workers permanently experience uncertainty; these types of jobs are growing steadily around the planet. Since the coup d'état in 1973, Chile has experienced a series of structural economic changes framed by neoliberal ideas cemented in the "Constitution of Pinochet." Precarious work in Chile is a direct consequence of these ideas. This multidimensional phenomenon has progressively been entering employment areas where it was not previously present. As a result, there has been a rise in work precarization and its full impact on health is not well known. The goal of this study was to estimate the association of work precariousness with mental health outcomes in Chilean workers.MethodsData were obtained from the Chilean Survey of Work and Health 2009-2010 (ENETS). Only valid records of salaried workers (excluding hourly-only or commission-only workers) in the private sector without missing values were included (n = 1900). After applying appropriate sampling weights, 1,461,727 workers were represented. Mental health was estimated as anxiety/depression levels using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). A multilevel multivariate generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) with negative binomial and log link distribution was used to study the association between precariousness and depression/anxiety.ResultsLooking at the overall precariousness scale (range from zero to four), we observed an increase of approximately 34% in the depression/anxiety score (scale range from 0 to 36) for every unit on the precarious work overall scale (Relative Risk = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.28, 1.42) controlling for age, sex, and occupational group.ConclusionPrecarious work was associated with anxiety and depression as measured with the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. Controlling for demographic variables changed neither the direction nor the magnitude of the association.

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The uncertain state of work in the U.S.: Profiles of decent work and precarious work.

Publications

The uncertain state of work in the U.S.: Profiles of decent work and precarious work.

Similar Datasets

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