Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs), particularly asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), impose significant burdens on patients and their families in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Little is known about the experience of living with CRD in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), and the impact of systemic inequities in primary care settings. To explore patient experiences of systemic inequities in CRD care in Klang District, Malaysia. We employed an adapted qualitative Photovoice study conducted between December 2023 and October 2024. The study involved adult patients with self-reported CRDs from five primary care clinics in Klang District, Malaysia. In-depth interviews were conducted at two time points using an interview guide and focused on the topics chosen by participants in their photographs. We transcribed audio-recordings verbatim, checked for accuracy and analysed them thematically. Patient and public involvement (PPI) was integral throughout the study, enhancing cultural relevance and ethical oversight. Fourteen participants (mean age 54 years; 57.1% men, 42.9% Malay, 50% diagnosed with asthma) completed the study. Four interconnected themes emerged: (1) indoor and outdoor air pollution (e.g. smoking and haze) worsened respiratory symptoms; (2) financial strain due to out-of-pocket expenses despite provision of universal healthcare; (3) occupational vulnerabilities, including transitions to precarious informal work due to health limitations; and (4) gendered caregiving burdens, including caring responsibilities while ill, pregnancy-related vulnerability, stigma, and household misunderstanding. Participants consistently showed resilience, proactively adopting coping strategies despite systemic barriers. This study highlights intersectional inequities faced by people with CRDs in Klang, Malaysia, emphasising environmental, financial, occupational, and gender-specific challenges. The use of participatory visual methodologies like Photovoice gives voice to people, allowing their narratives to advocate for culturally sensitive change to the lived environment supported by equitable provision of healthcare.

Abstract This article offers methodological reflections on the possibilities and challenges of multimethod research on disability politics and precarious work. These reflections are informed by a doctoral research project entitled “The politics of disablement and precarious work in the UK: Prefiguring an anti-productivist future” that examined oppression, exploitation, and precarity under disabling capitalism. In this project, twenty-seven gig economy workers subjected to structural disablement contributed through interviews, with twelve also taking part in a diary-keeping research phase over eight weeks; ten diarists also attended post-diary interviews. The article is organised as follows. First, I provide a brief overview of the methods adopted in the project. Second, I take the reader on a journey of the practical steps taken in preparation for this project’s data production phase. The third section conveys the processual aspects of data production, alongside participants’ reflections on their own involvement in the project. In the final section, I highlight the difficulties encountered while seeking to implement the compensation process for this project. The article concludes with a call for universities and social research funders to establish clearer and more flexible processes for ensuring that research participants’ involvement is adequately compensated and that all doctoral researchers have access to guidelines and the necessary funds to compensate participants.

ABSTRACT On 11 August 2021, Florence’s civic bell—the Martinella—was rung by workers from the GKN plant in Campi Bisenzio, reactivating a Resistance-era call to “rise up”. The slogan Insorgiamo! quickly became the rallying cry of a broad-based movement of protest against the announced factory closure. Using the GKN campaign as a strategic case, this article shows how labour disputes, local context, and the politics of memory intersect in contemporary Italy, where precarious work and the declining presence of parties on the ground make workplace conflicts key arenas for wider political claims. We develop a mechanism-centred account of strategic memory work: mnemonic cues—above all Insorgiamo!—connect working-class and civic memories within a shared interpretive frame, casting heroes, victims, and villains, sharpening “we/they” boundaries, and shifting emotions from resignation and fear to indignation, pride, and resolve. Empirically, we analyse 465 Facebook posts (9 July 2021–5 May 2022) and seven interviews (ten actors). Logistic and log-linear models test whether posts containing Insorgiamo! are more likely to display emotional expression and within-message emotional transformation, and whether they generate higher engagement (likes, reactions, comments, shares). Results support both expectations. We argue that, in Italy, memory-based protest action can scale workplace conflict into civic coalitions contesting industrial policy, demanding public accountability, and advancing a politics of the “just transition”.

Within the context of rising pension ages, there has been growing interest in how precarious workers find and sustain employment. One group which has been under-explored is “aged-in-place” (AIP) migrants: people who have spent most of their lives away from their home countries and have lifetimes of experience of economic exclusion. This scoping review aims to explore the experiences of older AIP migrants in work and propose an agenda for research and policy to support their realization of work that they value. We reviewed literature on migrants’ experiences in employment and aging. A prevalent focus is on ethnic enclaves: neighborhoods as spaces for mutual economic and social support. Although enclaves are contested constructs, they are spaces in which migrants collaborate to overcome exclusion resulting from factors like discrimination and language barriers. We argue that such collaboration both shapes older migrants’ understanding of work in later life and provides the political, social, and economic agency to co-construct work which they value.

Despite the well-known benefits of breastfeeding (protection against diseases, natural contraception, and cost savings), many mothers are forced to stop or reduce it due to work constraints. Rigid schedules, lack of support, and precarious working conditions often turn the workplace into an obstacle. To understand this reality, a descriptive and exploratory study, inspired by phenomenology, was conducted with sixteen mothers from the Makiso health zone in Kisangani through semi-structured interviews. Participants view exclusive breastfeeding as natural and essential up to six months. However, balancing motherhood and work requires compromises. Some reorganize their days, extend their leave, or advocate for solutions such as breastfeeding spaces. All strive to safeguard their baby’s health and maintain the mother-child bond without neglecting their professional responsibilities. Their expectations are clear: access to information, psychological and logistical support, appropriate facilities, flexible schedules, adjusted leave, legal protection, and above all, recognition of their dual role. The study highlights a persistent tension: the willingness to excel exists, but the necessary means are lacking. In practice, breastfeeding at work remains a daily struggle. This should not be an individual battle. Measures adapted to Kisangani’s local context are needed to support these mothers, invest in infant health, and strengthen family bonds. The findings provide guidance for public policies, workplace practices, and local actions that are more humane, effective, and sustainable.

Continuing teacher education is a central axis for improving the quality of education, especially in the face of contemporary social, technological, and pedagogical transformations. This article aims to analyze, through a literature review, the main challenges, conceptions, and public policies related to continuing teacher education in the Brazilian context. Based on classic and contemporary authors in the educational field, the importance of ongoing training as a critical, reflective process articulated with pedagogical practice is discussed. Transformations in teaching and learning processes, driven by the integration of digital technologies, increasing diversity in schools, and new curricular demands, require teachers to continuously update their knowledge and pedagogical practices. In this context, continuing education faces significant challenges, such as precarious working conditions, the lack of consistent public policies, the disconnection between theory and practice, and training programs that are poorly aligned with school realities. On the other hand, emerging perspectives emphasize in-service training, collaboration among teachers, critical reflection on practice, and teacher protagonism in the learning process. Educational policies play a central role in guiding and supporting continuing education initiatives and should promote democratic, contextualized, and professionally oriented approaches. Thus, continuing teacher education stands as an essential strategy for enhancing educational quality and fostering more critical and inclusive pedagogical practices.

Abstract Electronic performance monitoring (EPM) is increasingly used to track workers’ behaviors, often without their input or consent. While prior research has documented mixed effects of EPM on stress and performance, these outcomes must be understood in the broader context of work precarity. Drawing on a nationally representative survey of US workers ( N = 2515), we examine how structural and psychological precarity relate to both the presence and perceived intrusiveness of EPM. Results show that precarious workers are more likely to be subjected to EPM, to experience more intensive monitoring, and to report more negative psychological reactions to surveillance. Positive perceptions of EPM, such as beliefs that it improves safety or productivity, were more common among workers with greater security and control. These findings suggest that EPM functions not only as a technological intervention but also as a mechanism reflecting and reinforcing existing power imbalances in the workplace. The discussion considers implications for psychological theory, regulation, and policy, highlighting the need for equitable implementation of monitoring practices in an era of increasing workplace surveillance.

Given the urgency of the socio-environmental crisis, greenfluencers have emerged as vital communication bridges; however, little is still known about how they form their symbolic bonds within the Ibero-American context. This study analyzes their digital practices through the lens of parasocial relationship theory, seeking to understand the emotional connection between these creators and their communities.To this end, a qualitative, exploratory, and comparative approach was employed, conducting in-depth interviews with eleven content creators from various countries across the region. The findings reveal that eco-communication on social media is not a mere dissemination of data, but rather an exercise in “cultural translation.” In this process, environmental knowledge is humanized as it is filtered through every day and personal narratives. The research demonstrates that the key to their legitimacy lies in the affective bond: the audience does not seek a distant technical authority, but rather a close peer with whomthey can identify. Creators act as emotional managers, carefully balancing eco-anxiety with messages of hope to sustain the engagement of their followers. Finally, the study discusses the tensions that condition this labor, such as algorithmic challenges and the precariousness of digital work. It is concluded that theeffectiveness of sustainability on digital platforms depends less on technical information and more on the strength of the parasocial relationship. It is this human bond that manages to sustain civic commitment in the face of misinformation and digital burnout.

This forum piece examines the emotional, relational, and ethical dimensions of transformative learning in contemporary higher education. Drawing on practitioner experience at a research-intensive Canadian university and scholarship in critical pedagogy, adult learning, and institutional ethics, it illustrates how transformative learning is shaped and often constrained by organizational cultures, political pressures, and unfulfilled institutional commitments to inclusion. While transformative learning aspires to disrupt assumptions and cultivate more just ways of knowing, practitioners frequently encounter institutional inertia, value misalignment, and forms of institutional betrayal that complicate this work. These dynamics intensify the affective labour required of staff and faculty, often resulting in moral injury, burnout, and precarious relational work that remains largely invisible. The paper argues for a fuller recognition of the human conditions underpinning transformative learning and calls for institutional courage, relational accountability, and more sustainable structures of support.

Occupational stress is a critical determinant of the mental health of professionals in all fields, with occupational burnout syndrome representing a serious and prevalent consequence, especially for those working in healthcare. The demanding nature of caregiving, coupled with often precarious working conditions and the need to make complex, emotionally charged decisions involving another human being, requires a critical analysis of this phenomenon. To analyze the relationship between working conditions and occupational burnout among healthcare professionals, identifying its main determinants, impacts, and coping strategies discussed in recent literature. A narrative literature review of a qualitative nature was conducted. The search was carried out in national and international databases (SciELO, LILACS, PubMed), using the descriptors "occupational burnout," "mental health," "healthcare professionals," and "self-care." Twelve scientific articles, published between 2021 and 2025, in Portuguese, Spanish, or English, were selected. A direct relationship was identified between adverse working conditions and the high prevalence of occupational burnout. The main risk factors include overload and long working hours, scarcity of material and human resources, exposure to trauma, lack of appreciation and managerial support, and interpersonal conflicts. The central manifestations of burnout—emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low professional accomplishment—are frequently associated with disorders such as anxiety and depression. The review points to the inadequacy of strategies focused solely on the individual, highlighting the primary need for organizational interventions. Addressing occupational burnout syndrome among healthcare professionals requires a comprehensive and multi-level approach. It is concluded that it is necessary to combine institutional interventions, such as improved working conditions, structural psychological support, and humanized management policies, with the promotion of supported self-care. Protecting the mental health of these workers is fundamental not only for their individual well-being but also for the quality and sustainability of health services.

Labor informality is a global phenomenon characterized by precarious working conditions. This study aimed to analyze the socioeconomic factors influencing the informal economy in downtown Neiva-Huila using a descriptive mixed-methods approach. A total of 90 street vendors were surveyed, mostly Colombian women (51.11%) from low socioeconomic backgrounds and with low to medium educational levels. A significant 93.33% entered informality due to a lack of formal job opportunities. The median income was COP $1,000,000, with 8-hour workdays. About 52.22% lacked access to formal financing, citing fear of debt, strict requirements, and high interest rates as barriers. Participants also reported challenges such as weather conditions, insecurity, police harassment, and institutional neglect. In conclusion, informality in Neiva reflects precarious labor conditions, financial exclusion, and limited institutional support. Workers call for state assistance, access to credit, and inclusion in public policies to improve their living conditions and promote social inclusion.

ABSTRACT In this article we examine how rural‐to‐urban migrant factory workers in two of Vietnam's industrial zones actively construct livelihood stability and pursue future aspirations while dealing with structurally precarious work environments. We develop a multi‐scalar conceptual framework combining key ideas regarding livelihood trajectories, feminist social reproduction theory, and social networks and social capital, and draw on worker interviews in Bình Dương and Bắc Ninh Provinces as well as focus groups with officials and other key stakeholders. While workers' trajectories are shaped by shifting production demands, low wages, housing insecurity, and limited social protection, as well as familial obligations and life events, we find that they actively recalibrate their livelihood strategies and focus on gaining stability through informal income activities, support networks, and future‐oriented planning. Rather than viewing workers as passive subjects of exploitation, our study contributes to scholarship on precarious labour and migration by showing how economic survival, emotional well‐being, and aspirational agency are dynamically interwoven and negotiated over time. We also challenge dominant policy narratives within Vietnam that frame industrial employment as a straightforward path to improved livelihoods, while calling for more integrated policy approaches that recognize the entanglement of labour, housing, and care in sustaining Vietnam's industrial development.

The swift development of technologies of artificial The pervasive use of third-party payroll arrangements in India’s private sector has created a paradigm of precarious work, fundamentally undermining the traditional employer-employee relationship. This article provides a critical doctrinal and policy analysis of this employment model. It argues that the existing legal framework, primarily the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, is ill-equipped to address the systematic exploitation enabled by third-party intermediation. The study examines how these arrangements facilitate job insecurity, wage suppression, and denial of social security, while allowing principal employers to evade statutory liabilities. Through an analysis of judicial pronouncements and sector-specific case studies, the article highlights the gap between the constitutional mandate of ensuring decent work and the ground reality for millions of contract workers. It concludes that incremental legal reforms are insufficient and calls for a foundational re-evaluation of accountability in triangular employment relationships, alongside stringent enforcement and robust social protection floors.

Abstract This article examines employment protection legislation in Britain from 1963 and in Sweden from its codification in the 1970s, tracing developments through 2025. It argues that dismissal law and related protections operate as legal forms through which capitalist states manage class conflict by stabilising job security for insiders while relocating insecurity to temporary, agency and other non-standard work. The article develops the concepts of juridification and legal power resources to analyse how unions use law, how enforcement forums shape access to rights and how protection is unevenly realised across the labour market. Drawing on long-term research on dismissal, redundancy and enforcement institutions, it shows how Conservative and Social Democratic governments alike have used employment protection to institutionalise class compromise and accommodate demands for flexibility. It concludes that legal reforms have delivered real protections yet contributed to dualisation, highlighting the structural limits of labour law as a strategy against precarious work.

Many working parents in the United States are employed in jobs that expose them to challenging working conditions, including low wages, limited benefits, and unstable and unpredictable work schedules. A growing body of literature has documented the harmful impacts of unstable and unpredictable scheduling on workers and their families. We focus on the connection between parental exposure to such unstable and unpredictable scheduling practices and children’s asthma management. Although not all risk factors are fully understood, researchers have linked genetics, environment, and social conditions to adequate asthma control. To this end, we estimate the association between parental exposure to unstable and unpredictable scheduling practices in the service sector and children’s asthma control. This study draws on survey data from the Shift Project about children under the age of 10 whose parents are employed in the retail and service sectors (N=2,994). Using a series of OLS regressions with adjustment for confounders, we examine the association between parental exposure to unstable and unpredictable work schedules and their children’s asthma management. We also perform analyses to study whether parental health and well-being mediates this relationship. We document that parental exposure to unstable and unpredictable scheduling practices heightens children’s risk of wheezing episodes and emergency department visits for asthma, with effect sizes of between 0.3 and 0.5 of a SD. The association between parental exposure to work schedule unpredictability and wheezing is significantly mediated by parental work-life conflict and well-being. This study identifies a previously unexplored factor, parental exposure to unstable and unpredictable work schedules, that shapes children’s asthma management and adds to growing evidence on the consequences of schedule instability for the health and well-being of both workers and their children. Ultimately, unstable work schedules among parents may further contribute to the already unequal distribution of asthma in children, ultimately exacerbating broader health inequalities in the United States.

With the rapid expansion of gig economy, platform work has become a major force shaping contemporary labor markets. In China, rural-migrant food-delivery riders constitute a dynamic yet underrepresented group, often lacking access to decent work. Grounded in Psychology of Working Theory (PWT) and Work Precarity Framework, this study primarily examined their subjective experiences of decent work and future aspirations. As a secondary aim, we explored their view of work. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 participants, and data were analyzed using the Consensual Qualitative Research method. Our findings revealed sources of dissatisfaction such as income instability and risky working conditions, alongside sources of satisfaction like flexible schedules and positive colleague relationships. While some were trapped in precarious employment and harbored turnover intentions, others had developed concrete strategies to improve their circumstances, such as transitioning to ride-hailing driving or pursuing promotion to manager roles. Finally, participants framed work as a means to meet survival needs, foster professional growth, and contrubute to others. This study marks the first application of PWT and precarious work scholarship to understanding how rural-migrant food-delivery riders navigate precarious work within gig economy. Directions for future research and implications for policymakers, platform operators, and career counselors are discussed.

Precarization has a significant impact on female journalists, who are often forced to balance‎ their precarious working conditions and family commitments. However, little research has examined how‎ female journalists cope with these challenges. This study employs qualitative semi-structured interviews‎ with 14 Czech female journalists who are planning to start or expand their families and identifies five‎ strategies: (1) making individual arrangements with superiors, which can sometimes lead to unfair‎ working conditions; (2) changing jobs, including moves to less demanding positions or career changes;‎(3) using family support, particularly relying on family members for household help and childcare; (4)‎postponing motherhood or parenthood; and (5) paying higher insurance contributions if affordable. The‎ study underscores the need for systemic changes to ensure more stable and fair working conditions for ‎female journalists.‎ ‎

IntroductionDomestic workers (DWs) worldwide face precarious and informal working conditions, including unstable employment, extended hours and insufficient labour protections, impacting their health. This study examines the health and healthcare access of women DWs in Peru, focusing on differences related to formal and informal employment.MethodsThis participatory action research surveyed women DWs in Lima, La Libertad and Piura, Peru, from September 2023 to March 2024 using respondent-driven sampling (RDS). We gathered sociodemographic, healthcare access and health status data and reported counts and percentages with RDS-II estimators (95% CI). We compared health status and healthcare access by formal and informal employment using bootstrap RDS methods.ResultsThe study analysed data from 456 DWs. Most were between 19 and 45 years old (60.0%, 95% CI 50.1% to 70.0%), resided in Lima (69.8%, 95% CI 57.5% to 82.0%) and self-identified as Mestizo (54.8%, 95% CI 45.0% to 64.7%). Most respondents were precariously employed as informal DWs (90.5%, 95% CI 87.5% to 93.6%). A higher percentage of informal workers reported difficulty obtaining workplace permission for healthcare visits (32.2%, 95% CI 21.3% to 43.1% vs 21.2%, 95% CI 4.3% to 28.2%; p=0.187) and spent over 100 PEN (US$28) out of pocket on medical visits in the past year (21.2%, 95% CI 14.1% to 28.4% versus 10.5%, 95% CI 0.0% to 32.5%; p=0.249). Despite access to public health insurance, a higher percentage of informal workers visited private healthcare facilities (14.4%, 95% CI 8.3% to 20.5%) than formal workers (4.7%, 95% CI 1.5% to 7.8%) (p=0.084). A higher percentage of informal workers reported a diagnosis of depression (9.7%, 95% CI 5.1% to 14.4% vs 1.6%, 95% CI 0.0% to 4.4%; p=0.052) and anxiety (12.3%, 95% CI 6.1% to 18.5% vs 3.5%, 95% CI 0.0% to 9.1%; p=0.322). Obesity (43.0%) and depressive symptoms (41.4%) were prevalent across the DW population, regardless of employment status.ConclusionsInformal employment among women DWs in Peru may be linked to greater health challenges and barriers to care, despite public health insurance coverage. Addressing these inequities requires stronger labour protections.

ABSTRACT In this paper, we have developed an original framework to interrogate policy concerning the outdoor sector, giving thought to achieving Sustainable Development Goals 5 (gender equality) and 8 (decent work), emphasising a shift from precarious to decent work in our investigation. Employing qualitative content analysis, we found the discourse of policy to be masculinised and heteronormative, focussed on growth, with limited reflection on gender matters in employment, its precarity, or its commitment to decent work for all. Across all documents, sex-disaggregated data were absent, and inconsistent nomenclature disguised the true extent of precarious work. How to implement change and promote social sustainability, decent work and inclusivity remained unclear. Our framework suggests a way forward to critically examine policy to address these issues and to focus on positive change.

Careers in creative crafts are perceived to be precarious: workers face constant rejection and receive low and erratic pay. Yet, some creative craft workers handle these challenges better than others. Precarity sometimes subsides as careers progress, and the core-periphery structure that typifies creative craft production systems is navigable. This raises the question of how creative craft workers can cope productively with the precarity of craft work. We research a prominent creative craft worker collective: country music songwriters. Our study captures the voices of 90 creative craft workers, drawing on secondary interviews with 66 songwriters working at the core of Nashville’s highly corporatized country music production system, and 24 operating at its social and spatial periphery. We find that the key to coping with precarity lies in achieving supportive patterns of social embeddedness by investing in primary craft skills, advancing higher-order vocational skills, and navigating the core-periphery structure of the creative craft production system. As apprentice songwriters practice their craft and learn how to organize their songwriting routines, they become increasingly vested in the system. Once they become master songwriters, they broaden their networks by liaising more with other industry stakeholders and engage with the system more reflexively to ensure their continued relevance. Peripheral workers engage in allyship and develop ties with workers positioned at the system’s core. We incorporate these social strategies in a grounded theoretical model capturing how songwriters cope with precarity. We conjecture that elements of the model generalize theoretically towards other corporatized creative craft production systems.