Casual Workers Research Articles

The intersection of casual work and platform work: Lessons learned from the casual work agenda for the labour protection of platform workers

In recent years, the advent of platform work, i.e. work activities channelled through web platforms or apps, has been at the centre of discussions for being ‘an opportunity-generating machine’, and its darker side, that is the poor quality of working conditions associated with it, has also been discussed. Work patterns inherent in platform work, such as unpredictable work schedules and work insecurity (even for the next minute or hour), the lack of a stable income, and exclusion from even basic protections, have long been detected. They can be traced back in the daily work of dock workers in the late nineteenth century, but also in more contemporary forms of casual work, such as on-call work or zero-hours work. Accordingly, history seems to repeat itself, and even go to extremes with platform work. Against this background, this article focuses on the intersection of casual work and platform work, and explains that as a result of it, platform work can actually fall within the scope of broader regulatory strategies applicable to casual work, hereinafter the casual work agenda. The regulatory challenges deriving from the insecure nature of the work have already been dealt with by national and supranational regulators in the context of casual work. This article evaluates an already-available blueprint - the casual work agenda - in light of reducing the working hours, job (work), income, and employment status insecurity associated with platform work. To this end, it observes that a rich legal landscape exists in the Netherlands for addressing these insecurities. At the EU level, there are also insightful legal tools, prominent examples being the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directive, the Fixed-Term Work Directive, and the Working Time Directive. They provide for important legal safeguards, especially in countering working time and job insecurity. This article also looks at the proposed EU Directive on Platform Work and notes that it overlooks the legal safeguards contained in these instruments. Having regard to this, it calls on EU policymakers to redefine this legal initiative in light of the best regulatory practices offered by the casual work agenda.

Exploring job seeker profiles through latent profile analysis

Primarily using a variable-centered approach, job search research explores the connections between antecedents, processes, and outcomes. A person-centered approach, however, categorizes individuals based on personal and contextual elements. This study used CSM as a theoretical framework to identify job seeker profiles by exploring configurations of job search self-efficacy, conscientiousness, financial need, social pressure, and job search quality and intensity. We examined how these profiles correspond with sociodemographic variables and job search outcomes such as rumination, interviews, and job offers. In a sample of 300 job seekers, four profiles emerged: casual job search contemplator, financially burdened job seeker, financially secure job seeker, and multifaceted job search strategist. The contemplator profile correlated with the fewest interviews, while the financially burdened job seeker had the most. These findings suggest career counselors need to recognize distinctive job seeker patterns requiring tailored counseling approaches, underscoring the potential of the person-centered approach for further job search research.

Women’s Contingent Work and Allocation of Domestic Labor in South Korea

Women’s Contingent Work and Allocation of Domestic Labor in South Korea

What Got You through Lockdown?

What Got You through Lockdown?

Psychodynamics of work: Bibliometric mapping in 53 years of publications indexed in Scopus and agenda for future studies

The study aimed to map the bibliometric profile of publications on Psychodynamics of Work and propose an agenda for future studies. This was a quantitative research, using bibliometric methods proposed by Zupic and Cater (2015). The 195 publications located in Scopus, from 1970 to 2022, were analyzed using the VOSviewer software. For future studies, it is suggested to relate PDT with technology and precarious work, the future of work, diversity management, sustainable work, remote work, as well as Covid-19 and work.As for the subjects, it is suggested to conduct research with other health professionals, with informal workers, self-employed workers, casual workers, dangerous professions, liberal professionals, volunteers, interns, workers in the economy of the sea, teachers and outsourced workers.

Solar Cell Innovation: Energy Source Drive Sewing Machine in D'Kartinis Group Eco-Friendly Sewing House

The economic level of the people of Teluk Kabung Utara, Padang City, West Sumatra Province is still at the middle to lower level. Its location close to the beach makes the majority of people work as fishermen, farmers, and casual laborers. In addition, industrial growth has an impact on increasing electricity consumption. This study aims to describe the Eco-Friendly Sewing House program fostered by PT Pertamina Patra Niaga Integrated Terminal Teluk Kabung in the economic sector to improve the economic level of the community. The research method used is descriptive-qualitative with data collection techniques in the form of interviews, observations, and documentation. The results of this study show that activities and innovations in the Eco-Friendly Sewing House program carried out by the D'kartinis group have an impact on improving the economy of the North Kabung Bay community. On the other hand, this program is a medium in preserving the environment by utilizing renewable energy in the form of solar cells as alternative electric power to drive sewing machines. The goal is to become a sustainable development program that is environmentally friendly and prospers the community. The existence of this program is expected to empower the community to get out of problems and maximize their potential, and the implementation of the program is not only felt by the people of North Teluk Kabung but also outside Padang City.

PERAN IBU RUMAH TANGGA UNTUK MENINGKATKAN KESEJAHTERAAN KELUARGA DAN PENYERAPAN TENAGA KERJA HOME INDUSTRY BATIK

This research was taken from the phenomena that exist in the village of Tanjung Bumi, Bangkalan Regency. Where the village of Tanjung Bumi has the largest number of home industries compared to other villages, there are 49 batik home industries in Tanjung Bumi and it also attracts more workers to work in the home industry. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of housewives in improving family welfare and employment in the Batik Home industry. The method used in this research is descriptive method, where this method is an overview in the field regarding the role of housewives to improve family welfare and employment in the Batik Home industry by using in-depth interviews. The data used are primary data and secondary data which the researcher then reveals the content or meaning of the predetermined legal rules. The results of this study indicate that before the existence of the batik home industry, most housewives worked only as housewives and waited for their husbands to come work as fishermen, farmers, casual laborers. With the existence of a batik home industry, housewives can help ease the burden on their husbands and increase their income through the production of batik products

Asymmetric new Keynesian Phillips curve for Mexico, 2005Q1–2022Q4

PurposeThe labor market responds in a differentiated manner during recessions and expansions, and it is of vital importance to know the magnitude asymmetries. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of the disinflationary monetary policy (2005Q1–2022Q4) through the sacrifice rate measured in terms of unemployment and rate of critical labor conditions (RCLC) with nonlinear auto regressive distributed lag (NLARDL; Shin et al., 2014), which allows to efficiently estimate asymmetric effects in short and long terms in the presence of variables of different integration orders.Design/methodology/approachThe authors estimate an asymmetric accelerationist Phillips curve, augmented with labor precariousness for Mexico (2005Q1–2022Q4) following the NLARDL approach (Shin et al., 2014).FindingsThe authors prove that the increase in the unemployment gap has greater disinflationary effects than the RCLC in both the short and the long term; the expansionary phases of the business cycle, which reduce UGap, do not have inflationary effects either in the short or in the long run, but improvements in the labor market do, when RCLC is reduced; raising RCLC appears to have been the companies’ main survival strategy since 2015; and these asymmetries can generate a low unemployment trap with high and growing precariousness, with huge dynamic costs for well-being, economic growth, inequality and poverty.Social implicationsAs labor precariousness grows, the implications are several both in the short and long run. In the short run, the most notorious example of the effects on workers has to do with unstable and insecure situations, that disrupt all their life planning options, and health issues. Bohle et al. (2004) found in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries that casual employees had less desirable and predictable working hours, greater work–life conflict and more associated health complaints than people with permanent jobs.Originality/valueThe approach includes the labor precariousness variable, which describes a new phenomenon in the labor market. Nowadays, workers are facing a new threat since firms are employing a new labor cost reduction strategy in which they do not lay off workers but rather paying them less, working them more hours, or reducing benefits. The asymmetries between the effects of precarity and unemployment can generate a poverty trap in the long run. This problem is, once again, of great relevance in the context of global high inflation.

Loyalty Of Casual Daily Workers Is Mediated By Job Satisfaction On The Influence Of Compensation

This research will measure the loyalty of daily workers who can make a big contribution to the construction industry and is one of the studies that tries to understand the loyalty of daily workers, For example, compensation influences job satisfaction, the work environment influences job satisfaction, and job satisfaction influences the loyalty of daily workers. A questionnaire was used to carry out the research, and 131 construction workers were used. Then the results of research that processed the data, Job Satisfaction Compensation Rejected, Work Environment for Job Satisfaction Accepted, Job Satisfaction Loyalty of Daily Workers Accepted, Compensation for Loyalty of Daily Workers Accepted, Compensation Accepted Job satisfaction mediates against daily worker loyalty rejected, and work environment mediates job satisfaction on daily employee loyalty received. Since the results of the study were based solely on questionnaires, the in-depth understanding of the workers' responses was not investigated. Practical Implications: Construction daily workers who work at the same time as well as several points of view regarding the loyalty of daily workers in management settings are factors that will influence the company's performance in projects that have been obtained and must run according to schedule.

The Gig city: Tech-based revitalization and contingent labor across classes in Chattanooga, TN

In Chattanooga, TN, the construction of a fiber optic telecommunications network has led to a tech-based revitalization strategy, and the promotion of entrepreneurial and technical positions within the Downtown. Rather than being a solution for a better labor future, this paper demonstrates how revitalization has served to perpetuate contingent hiring practice across classes and sectors and create contingency in new ones. In focusing on the types of work valorized in public discourse (an educated yet contingent tech sector) and those that remain devalorized (the many ancillary sectors which support tech-based growth) this paper argues for the need for a policy agenda which takes varied labor forms and livelihood strategies into account. The experience of contingency is examined across classes to demonstrate how revitalization discourses and historical discourses perpetuate social disparities despite the connectedness of workers via workforce restructuring.

No time to read? How precarity is shaping learning and teaching in the humanities

Humanities educators are frequently frustrated by students’ poor engagement in reading. The contemporary student experience is characterised by disruption and precarity. Similarly, is that of teachers who work in casual employment. This discussion is located within broader conversations around the neoliberal university, but aims to make more visible ways that teaching and learning are increasingly shaped by precarity, and consequences for the humanities. It describes what precarity in higher education looks like and considers the kinds of strategies that students and their teachers are positioned to develop by virtue of engaging in education under such conditions, amid chaos, making these meaningful through the learning theory of connectivism. This discussion points to some examples of humanities-based pedagogical innovations that seek to strengthen reading skills, while also acknowledging the changing circumstances of students to point towards avenues for ongoing consideration, reflection, and innovation in the humanities.

Assessing the economic sustainability of gig work: A case of hyper-local food delivery workers in Kolkata, India

Gigs were once heralded as work ushering in flexibility, freeing workers from the constraints of time, space, and nagging human managers. However it has been marked by long work hours and an unstable income. This has led to a situation where gig workers are increasingly demanding labor rights. Gig work has been qualitatively explored, highlighting the elements of control exercised by the platform companies. However, there is a dearth of quantitative assessment of the economic sustainability of gig work. In this context, this study explores gig work using the case of hyper-local food delivery in India. The first part uses an agent-based and discrete event simulation (parameterized using primary data) to map the net earnings of workers under varying wage rates. The results show that, at the present wage rate, the food delivery worker has an average net earning of INR 265/day (USD 12.10), considering both the fixed and variable cost of operation. This earning is far below that of an average self-employed worker and casual laborer in urban India. Finally, this study proposes a fixed hourly wage rate of INR 37.84 (USD 1.72) to eliminate the variability in worker earnings without inflating the cost of food delivery.

Investigating Key Determinants of Childhood Diarrheal Incidence among Patients at Hoima Regional Referral Hospital, Western Uganda

This study aimed to analyze the determinants impacting diarrhea incidence among children under five at Hoima Regional Referral Hospital, Western Uganda. Through a cross-sectional investigation, quantitative data was collected via self-administered and investigator-led questionnaires utilizing digital tools such as Google Sheets for both online and offline data collection. From a randomized sample of 323 caregivers selected through convenience sampling, a diarrhea prevalence of 27.3% among children under five was observed at the time of data collection as reported by caregivers. Among the children studied, 136 (43.7%) were male, and 175 (56.3%) were female. The average age of the participants was 2 years with a standard deviation of 1.25 years. The analysis revealed higher rates of diarrhea among children aged 1 and 3 years, constituting 24 (28%) cases in each group, followed by 20 cases (24%) in the 2-year-old group. Additionally, 12 (14%) cases were reported in children aged 6- 11 months, while only 5 (6%) cases were found in 4-year-olds out of the total 85 reported cases of diarrhea. Regarding breastfeeding practices, 11 (3.7%) children were breastfed 1-3 times a day, 77 (26.1%) were breastfed 3-5 times, 150 (50.8%) were breastfed 5-7 times, 34 (11.5%) were breastfed 7-9 times, and 23 (7.8%) were breastfed more than 9 times a day. The introduction of supplementary food varied with 25 (8.0%) initiated at 3-4 months, 80 (25.7%) at 5-6 months, and the majority, 181 (58.2%), introduced to supplementary food after 6 months. The study highlighted maternal occupation influencing weaning practices; 152 (48.9%) of mothers who weaned their children at 2 years were self-employed, followed by 56 (18.0%) engaged in casual labor and 36 (11.6%) in civil service. Merely 6 (1.9%) civil servant mothers, 47 (15.1%) self-employed, and 14 (4.5%) casual laborers practiced weaning at three years of age. The elevated prevalence of diarrhea (27.3%) was associated with factors such as health-seeking behavior, early introduction of supplementary foods, premature weaning, and breastfeeding frequency. Notably, exclusive breastfeeding practices were scarce, with mothers introducing other foods early and weaning their children prematurely. Keywords: Diarrhoea, Children under five, Breastfeeding, Weaning, Supplementary foods.

DETERMINAN PENDAPATAN PEREMPUAN PEKERJA INFORMAL (STUDI KASUS PASAR DESA ADAT DI DESA DALUNG)

This observe ambitions to decide the impact partly and concurrently on paintings experience, age, operating capital and wide variety of own circle of relatives dependents at the profits of ladies casual employees (Case Study of Traditional Village Markets in Dalung Village). The statistics used on this observe is number one statistics, specifically via way of means of dispensing questionnaires to casual area ladies employees on the Traditional Village Market in Dalung Village. The populace used on this observe had been all casual area ladies employees withinside the Traditional Village Market of Dalung Village. The overall populace used is eighty lady employees the usage of the approach of figuring out the sample, specifically, Random Sampling. The evaluation approach used on this observe is a couple of linear regression evaluation. The consequences of statistics processing of the a couple of linear regression version located that the consequences of labor experience, age, operating capital and wide variety of own circle of relatives dependents had a vast simultaneous impact at the profits of lady casual employees on the Traditional Village Market in Dalung Village. Partially, paintings experience, operating capital and wide variety of own circle of relatives dependents have a advantageous and vast impact at the profits of lady casual employees on the Traditional Village Market in Dalung Village. The age variable partly has a terrible and vast impact at the profits of casual ladies employees on the Traditional Village Market in Dalung Village.
 keyword: Work Experience, Age, Working Capital, Number of Family Dependents, and Women Informal Workers.

The influence of type of sexual partnership on male condom use: empirical evidence from the South African construction industry

There are indications that gender has an effect on individual risk factors and pathways to HIV diagnoses and treatment. Furthermore, there is growing recognition that to improve HIV-related health outcomes for men, it is important to understand their experiences and perspectives. Perhaps because of the physical nature of construction work, the South African construction industry is dominated by men. Given that employed men are a hard-to-reach community population group, the construction workplace offers an ideal environment for data collection and delivery of non-health-facility-based HIV prevention and treatment interventions. Furthermore, workers in the construction industry have been identified as being at a heightened risk of acquiring HIV and AIDS because of work-related travel, the ubiquity of transactional sex around worker hostels and having an increased likelihood of multiple and concurrent sex partnerships. As a consequence, this study examines the association between condom use and sexual partnerships among men working in the construction industry. A purposive cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from 450 workers across 18 construction sites in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The types of sexual partnership had three categories: regular sex partnerships, casual sex partnerships and sex worker partnerships. Frequency of condom use was determined to be highest with casual sex partners (51.2%), followed by sex workers (40.6%) and regular sex partners (25.6%). Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the demographic, experiential, behavioural and cognitive predictors of condom use across the three categories of sexual partnership. The results indicate that an individual’s perception of control over condom use, and the perceived threat posed by HIV and AIDS are significantly associated with consistent condom use, even after accounting for differences in partner type. Implications of the findings are discussed, and directions for future research on the association between sexual partnerships and condom use are offered.

Digital social security accounts for platform workers: The case of Estonia’s entrepreneur account

AbstractAdvancements in technology enable new opportunities for creating digital social security accounts, but the effectiveness of these to solve the accessibility and eligibility issues facing platform workers has not been assessed fully in the literature. The potential of digital social security accounts lies in their ability to consider the possible different streams of income of atypical workers and to improve the effective access of these workers to social security. Tax and social security offices can now exchange information on the income of platform workers in real time, which offers the promise of formalizing the previously informal casual work relationships of the self‐employed. This article explores the case of the Estonian entrepreneur account as a digital hybrid solution for improving the effective access to social security of platform workers. Digital portable accounts create the conditions for the structural improvement required to respond adequately to meet the changing social security needs of atypical workers. However, this also requires that the policy design be thought through carefully, to avoid digital portable accounts being simply a digital facilitator of outdated solutions.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on diet quality and food prices in sub-Saharan Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa faces prolonged COVID-19 related impacts on economic activity, livelihoods and nutrition, with recovery slowed down by lagging vaccination progress. This study investigated the economic impacts of COVID-19 on food prices, consumption and dietary quality in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania. We conducted a repeated cross-sectional study using a mobile platform to collect data from July-December, 2021 (round 2). We assessed participants' dietary intake of 20 food groups over the previous seven days and computed the primary outcome, the Prime Diet Quality Score (PDQS), and Dietary Diversity Score (DDS), with higher scores indicating better quality diets. We used generalized estimating equation (GEE) linear regression models to assess factors associated with diet quality during COVID-19. Most of the respondents were male and the mean age was 42.4 (±12.5) years. Mean PDQS (±SD) was low at 19.4(±3.8), out of a maximum score of 40 in this study. Respondents (80%) reported higher than expected prices for all food groups. Secondary education or higher (estimate: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.32, 1.15), medium wealth status (estimate: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.14, 0.81), and older age were associated with higher PDQS. Farmers and casual laborers (estimate: -0.60, 95% CI: -1.11, -0.09), lower crop production (estimate: -0.87, 95% CI: -1.28, -0.46) and not engaged in farming (estimate: -1.38, 95% CI: -1.74, -1.02) were associated with lower PDQS. Higher food prices and lower diet quality persisted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic and social vulnerability and reliance on markets (and lower agriculture production) were negatively associated with diet quality. Although recovery was evident, consumption of healthy diets remained low. Systematic efforts to address the underlying causes of poor diet quality through transforming food system value chains, and mitigation measures, including social protection programs and national policies are critical.

Social Protection and Rural Transformation in Africa

This article develops a conceptual framework on pathways through which noncontributory social protection can support resilient and inclusive agricultural growth in rural Africa. It draws insights from a review of rigorous empirical evidence on the impacts of cash transfers and multifaceted cash plus programs on a range of relevant productive outcomes, including accumulation of productive assets, inputs and farm management practices, off-farm labor and nonfarm enterprises, and farm production and income. This review demonstrates an emerging consensus in the literature: that access to social protection programs contributes positively to increasing the productive asset holdings of rural people, increasing the use of improved inputs and farm practices, and shifting away from casual wage labor arrangements. Moreover, there is limited evidence on heterogeneous effects across different baseline characteristics (income, sex, and labor-constrained households, among others). Finally, the article highlights how social protection programs should be considered an integral part of broader rural and agricultural development strategies in order to achieve a more productive, resilient, and equitable rural transformation in Africa.

The Extent of Market Dependence and Expenditure Pattern of Casual Labour in Rajasthan

The study examined the challenges casual labour households faced in Rajasthan, specifically in terms of inefficiency, low wage rates and low consumption. Two categories of casual labour, i.e., rural and urban, were analysed using the primary data collected at four intervals during 2019-2020. The findings revealed that the Public Distribution System (PDS) played a significant role in ensuring food security for labour households, particularly in providing cheaper grains. Additionally, higher expenses on electricity, travel, education and agricultural inputs posed financial strain for both rural and urban households. Consequently, the study underscored the importance of targeted policy interventions to promote healthier consumption behaviours, address addiction issues and enhance livelihood sustainability among casual labour households in Rajasthan.

Analisis Status Pekerja Freelance dalam Perjanjian Kerja Waktu Tertentu (PKWT) dalam Perspektif Hukum Ketenagakerjaan di Indonesia

Analysis of the status of freelancers in the Specific Time Work Agreement (PKWT) in the perspective of labor law in Indonesia is a study that aims to understand the relevant legal protections and employment arrangements for freelancers in Indonesia. Freelancers have grown rapidly in recent years, but their legal status and protection in the context of the employment relationship is still a concern. This study uses a qualitative research method that describes data using a series of sentences. The method used in this research is descriptive method. The descriptive method is a method whose data sources are words, pictures, and data from books, journals and other scientific works. In addition, everything collected has the potential to become a key to the Analysis of the status of Freelance workers in Specific Time Work Agreements (PKWT). The results of this study are that PKWT can be used to regulate the employment relationship between freelancers and employer companies. The PKWT must contain information regarding the type of work, the deadline for implementation, and the imbalances received by casual workers. Although casual workers do not receive the same protection as regular workers, they still have rights guaranteed by labor law, such as the right to an appropriate balance, reasonable working hours, and occupational health and safety protection.