Decent work and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic: A two-wave study1.

Abstract

The world is going through a challenging historical moment, with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting billions of lives and communities worldwide. Building on the widespread negative impact of the pandemic on the socio-economic context, and consequently on the labour market, the aim of this study was to analyse the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on workers' perception of decent work. The Decent Work Questionnaire was administered to 243 workers from seven Portuguese organisations at two-time points (before and during the pandemic). Results revealed a positive and significant effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on six of seven dimensions of decent work, particularly those related to Meaningful Remuneration for the Exercise of Citizenship and Health and Safety. The positive effects of social comparison processes are stronger than the negative effects of the adverse socio-economic context. Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, workers may have compared their work situation with the condition of other workers, activating an increase in their subjective perception of the value of their current reality.