“Like a tsunami coming in fast”: A critical qualitative study of precarity and resistance during the pandemic.

Abstract

This study explores the nature of precarity via the lens of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Precarity refers to uncertainty, loss, disruption, and anxiety, which differentially impact people across contexts. We sought to (a) identify how people understand and resist precarity during the pandemic; (b) explore the potential of precarity to serve as an organizing concept for psychological praxis and research; and (c) explore ways in which psychology of working theory (PWT) may be enriched by an infusion of precarity into its theoretical tenets. Twenty-seven participants who experienced work-related disruptions completed an open-ended survey during the summer of 2020 about the multifaceted challenges they faced. We used conventional content analysis to analyze the responses and derived the following three themes: (a) disruptions at work elevate precarity; (b) relationships as a source of both stress and resilience/resistance; and (c) expanding critical consciousness and resistance. Using a critical qualitative research lens, we identified ways in which people were protected from, or vulnerable to, the threats to their security. We also explored the complex intersection of structural barriers and social identities in relation to precarity. We presented propositions to guide future scholarship on precarity and PWT. Implications for practice and advocacy conclude the article. Public Significance StatementThis qualitative study explored the complex nature of precarity during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, identifying how people understand and resist differential vulnerabilities. The article includes propositions about the role of precarity in psychological research and theory as well as new directions for psychology of working theory.

Multifaceted Precarity: Pandemic Experiences of Recent Immigrant Women in the Accommodation and Food Services Sector

“…Outcomes include direct health effects, such as decreased mental health, which have also been highlighted as a consequence of unemployment during the pandemic (54) and social isolation. (55,56) Our ndings further point to secondary health effects, such as limited access to testing and paid sick leave, which in turn increases risk of transmission and serious illness -potentially having negative effects on the public health response more broadly. Through applying the Work Precarity Framework we are able to map intersections between work precarity and other social determinants of health, such as access to income support, housing and education.…”

Profiles of Decent Work and Precarious Work: Exploring Macro-Level Predictors and Mental Health Outcomes

“…While changes in work are notable contexts for precarity, radical shifts in health (due in part to COVID-19), as well as political crises, climate change, and ongoing struggles related to marginalization and oppression, have created a broader sense of instability. Precarity theory has also been linked to PWT; the synthesis of these two theories underscores the powerful role of structural barriers in constraining access to decent and stable work and in creating and sustaining precarious lives (Blustein et al, 2022). A fundamental tenet of precarity theory is that sources of precarity are differentially distributed in society, with marginalized communities experiencing far more insecurity (Han, 2018).…”

“…Precarious work refers to unstable, short-term, and often part-time work that does not consistently offer social and legal protections (Allan et al, 2021; Kalleberg, 2018). These two dimensions reflect essential aspects of contemporary work, particularly in relation to rising uncertainty in the labor market, growing precarity, and ongoing violations of the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda (Blustein et al, 2022; ILO, 2022). In this study, we examine decent work and precarious work via the lens of a person-centered analysis (Hofmans et al, 2020; Pereira et al, 2019), which provides a means of determining unique groups of people distinguished by their responses to a given set of attributes (in this case, decent work and precarious work).…”

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the career development of individuals with psychiatric disabilities.

“…The psychological burden from the pandemic exacted a heavy toll in both employment and educational sectors (Allan & Blustein, 2022;Marinoni et al, 2020). With structural inequities and intolerance exacerbated during the pandemic, diverse populations experienced greater job precarity and mental health concerns (Blustein et al, 2022;Bowleg, 2020). While unemployment levels have returned to prepandemic rates, there remains a need for assessing the impact of career-related disruptions on diverse communities (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.).…”