Unstable Jobs Research Articles

ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM OF PRECARIZATION OF EMPLOYMENT IN KAZAKHSTAN: GOVERNMENTAL INITIATIVES AGAINST JOB INSECURITY

Precarization of employment refers to the growing trend of insecure, unstable jobs that offer limited protections and benefits to workers. In Kazakhstan, this issue has become increasingly critical due to economic transitions and global labor market changes. The shift from a centrally planned economy to a market-oriented one has led to the proliferation of informal and non-standard forms of employment, leaving many workers vulnerable. This article delves into the Kazakhstani government's multifaceted approach to addressing employment precarization through a series of comprehensive legislative reforms, significant social security enhancements, and robust support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Key initiatives include implementing stricter regulations on temporary and part-time contracts, ensuring stronger enforcement of labor laws, and expanding social security coverage to provide a more secure safety net for all workers. Additionally, the government's efforts to support SMEs through financial assistance, business development services, and regulatory simplifications are aimed at fostering economic stability and creating more secure job opportunities. By thoroughly examining existing research and analyzing these government strategies, the article aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the measures taken and their effectiveness in mitigating the adverse effects of precarious employment, ultimately contributing to a more secure and equitable labor market in Kazakhstan.

The impact of unstable jobs on pro-environmental behavior: the critical role of ethical leadership

The impact of unstable jobs on pro-environmental behavior: the critical role of ethical leadership

사립유치원 경력교사가 경험하는 직무에 대한 고민과 요구

The purpose of this study is to find out the concerns and demands of the job experienced by experienced teachers in private kindergartens. To this end, seven experienced teachers who obtained the qualification as first-class full-time kindergarten teachers in Seoul were selected as participants for in-depth interviews. As a result of the study, from the concerns about the job experienced by experienced teachers in private kindergartens to the concerns arising from the kindergarten working environment, it was found that 'concerns of experienced teachers about unstable teaching jobs', 'concerns of experienced teachers for new job expansion', and 'challenges for adaptation to the new environment of experienced teachers'. The concerns arising from the perception of experienced members were 'excessive burden of work given to experienced teachers' and 'difficulty in recognizing and performing roles as intermediaries'. The demands for jobs experienced by experienced kindergarten teachers in private kindergartens were 'improving the reasonable treatment and treatment of experienced teachers' and 'development of teacher education programs for differentiated experienced teachers' due to the improvement of the institutional level. The improvements at the individual level were 'activation of mentoring using experienced teachers' and 'operation of a kindergarten professional learning community for experienced teachers'. It is expected that the job environment of experienced kindergarten teachers will be improved through this study.

Poverty and Temporary Employment in Italy

AbstractThis paper explores the relationship between temporary employment and poverty in Italy by using 2016–2019 longitudinal EU-SILC data. We model both poverty and labour market outcomes and account for possible endogeneity of temporary employment in the poverty equation. We find that temporary employment reduces the risk of poverty whether compared with inactivity and unemployment. Temporary workers are more likely to stay in poverty with respect to their permanent counterpart. The different effect of permanent/temporary employment on the risk of poverty is more pronounced for householders than for partners, thereby stressing the leading role of the former in income formation. There is evidence of feedback effects from past poverty to current temporary employment. We also find significant genuine state dependence in both the processes of poverty and temporary employment. For the latter, we note the prevalence of a trapping effect into unstable jobs relationships, especially for householders. Finally, we stress the relatively weak role of social transfers in integrating labour income from temporary employment and therefore in breaking the detrimental effect of temporary work on poverty.

Gender and the Gig Economy: An Analysis of Women Workers across Gig Platforms

The expansion of gig economy was seen with short term, flexible work along with the benefit of digital platforms, all these have brought in new opportunities for people. The main idea of the passage is to explore participation, the hindrances and the discrimination they must go through It also studies the issues and societal factors contributing to the "missing women" phenomenon in India. The research paper uses secondary data and a more qualitative approach along with some analytical tools such as linear regression, and chi-square to test the hypotheses and find conclusions. The analysis concludes that women are often disregarded in the gig platforms and tend to engage in lower paying jobs with lesser flexibility for them. Additionally, women experience unequal pay, unstable job, and lesser of benefits in the gig economy. With respect to the "missing women" phenomenon in India, the study explores behavioural factors such as son preference, gender inequality practices. By finding the gaps and challenges faced by women, which are often ignored, this study aims to inform policies and practices that can help women overcome obstacles, promote gender equality, and create a more inclusive and equitable gig economy.

Analysis Model of Knowledge, Social Demographics, and Social Environment on Drug Abuse: A Case Study in Swamp Areas

In Indonesia, various geographical and demographic factors have been exploited by drug abusers to facilitate their illegal activities more easily and safely. Geographic diversity, such as numerous islands, remote coastal villages, meandering rivers, and protected forests, creates conditions conducive to drug abuse. Swamp areas often face their own challenges, including limited accessibility and complex socio-economic issues. This study aims to analyze how knowledge, social demographics, and social environment influence drug abuse. The sample in this research consists of all detainees or drug abusers in Palembang City, Indonesia. Palembang City is located along the Musi River in the form of extensive swamp areas. A total of 100 individuals were selected as samples through incidental sampling techniques. This study used a questionnaire consisting of knowledge and social environment variables, which were then analyzed using logistic regression models. The collected data include histories of drug abuse, knowledge, age, gender, occupation, education, ethnicity, income, marital status, social environment, and swamp areas characteristics. Having an unstable job, negative social environment, low education, income, and knowledge, as well as living in swamp areas, can increase drug abuse. The combination of these factors increases the individual's risk of involvement in drug abuse.

Natural disasters, livelihood, and healthcare challenges of the people of a riverine island in Bangladesh: A mixed-method exploration.

Bangladesh's islands, because of their geographical location, frequently encounter crises like floods and river erosion, which pose significant threats to the residents' well-being and livelihoods. To delve into the effects of these disasters on livelihood and healthcare challenges, a mixed-method study was undertaken in a riverine-island near a major river of Bangladesh. Between February 15th and February 28th, 2023, a cross-sectional study was conducted on an island in Bangladesh. The quantitative method involved conducting a survey of 442 households, with a total of 2921 participants. Additionally, 10 in-depth interviews and 10 key-informant interviews were conducted using semi-structured guidelines. Qualitative interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using a thematic analysis. Triangulation was employed in this study through the integration of qualitative and quantitative analysis, resulting in the presentation of findings that offer an in-depth comprehension of the phenomenon being investigated. River erosions and floods are common and recurring natural disasters that significantly impact the lives of the riverine island inhabitants. These disasters often disrupted their livelihoods, forced many residents to endure substandard living conditions or relocated during flood events. The island faced a low diagnostic prevalence of chronic diseases (e.g., 5.1% of adults were hypertension and 2.5% are diabetes) because of the absence of diagnostic facilities and a shortage of certified doctors. A significant number of chronic illness people in the community turned to alternative medicine sources (39.3%) such as homeopathy, Kabiraj, and Ayurvedic medicine, especially it gets increased during periods of natural disasters. Moreover, reproductive aged women revealed that 79.4% of them gave birth at home, with 6.0% of these home deliveries resulting in miscarriage or infant death. The destruction of crops, unstable job opportunities, an inadequate educational system, and a deficient healthcare delivery system exacerbated the hardships faced by the population affected by these disasters. The failure to seek treatment for chronic diseases and undiagnosed diseases is a significant health issue among the aging adults on the island. Island residents face the challenge of establishing effective prevention strategies for the well-being of older adults especially at the period of natural disasters. It is crucial for the government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to collaborate to prevent the negative effects of floods and river erosions. This should include efforts to enhance the quality of education, healthcare services, job opportunities, and financial assistance for rebuilding homes.

Outbreak narrative: China's migrant women labor in the COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic, which broke out in early 2020, has disrupted China's population mobility on which its cities depend. Especially, during the two years of the pandemic, female migrant laborers have been taking the risk of becoming the surplus population in an unstable and hyper-competitive job market. Such circumstance has led their images and urban engagement to be finitely recorded by the narrative that emerged based on the pandemic -- outbreak narrative in Priscilla Wald's term (2008), serving as an essential archive to examine Chinese women labor and urban history during the COVID-19. Taking an article narrating the vagrancy of a female migrant worker -- Ah Fen in Shanghai as a threshold, this paper explores China's gendered migrancy and female migrant communities during the COVID-19. By tracing China's COVID-19-related outbreak narratives through literary analysis, this paper reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic has flooded more migrant workers, especially female laborers, into the gig economy and this new urban engagement pattern has made migrant women's mobility higher and encouraged them to rebuild migrant communities in the city. However, the high mobility and fragmented urban distribution, in turn, have strengthened their roles as “infected strangers” in the outbreak narrative, particularly in the context of China's strict differentiated quarantine governance. This research, initiated by literary analysis, on the one hand, draws a dynamic map of capital and population flow during the pandemic era, while on the other hand, exposes the injustice among different classes, genders, and ages in urban China enlarged by the virus.

Cross-Sectional and Descriptive Study on the Challenges and Awareness of Hispanic Parents Regarding Their Adolescents' Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Research has shown that during the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 20% of children and adolescents in the United States experienced mental health issues that became a significant social concern. However, recent studies have demonstrated that the majority of adolescents maintain positive emotions despite the crisis. This cross-sectional and descriptive study delves into the emotional states of adolescents during the pandemic, considering the viewpoints of both adolescents and their parents, with a specific focus on Hispanic adolescents. Survey results revealed that most adolescents reported positive and happy moods. However, a percentage of adolescents experienced worry, significant changes in feelings, and loneliness as a result of the physical and social isolation associated with virtual learning. Unfortunately, most surveyed Hispanic parents did not adequately recognize their adolescents' mood changes well. This lack of awareness, caused by factors such as an insufficient understanding about the importance of adolescent mental health, cultural reasons, language barriers, low education, unstable jobs, and more, could lead to missed opportunities for timely mental health interventions. This study seeks to provide a comprehensive discussion on the mental health of adolescents, while also advocating for the emotional wellbeing of Hispanic adolescents.

The impact of an unstable job on mental health: the critical role of self-efficacy in artificial intelligence use

The impact of an unstable job on mental health: the critical role of self-efficacy in artificial intelligence use

Sustainable future and the general education

Education is an activity of helping people to live independently. The essential aspect of education lies in the fact that the man of today teaches the man of tomorrow. Although tomorrow will be made by the choices what we make today, the responsibility for tomorrow is not on our shoulders but on the shoulders of next generation. The fundamental dilemma of education reveals itself in the reality of that we who cannot take over the responsibility for the future have to educate the next generation who cannot avoid that responsibility for their own times, especially in the period of rapid changes occurring nowadays. We have to educate the next generation to be able to get over the crisis and threats of the future bravely facing to the changes and overcoming the challenges. The crisis are very: the crisis of peace and democracy and the one of rapid climate change; on the one hand, on the other hand the threats comes from the unstable job markets. Education has to provide endless abilities with which the next generation will surmount the crisis and adjust themselves with the changes. The abilities are of critical thinking, humility, moral judgment, caring, inclusion, communication, and of self-learning that the next generation has to cultivate throughout their life. Only then will future sustainability be secured. The cultivation of these qualities is also the goal of both human formation education and civic education. General education at universities also aims the cultivation of these qualities. The times, therefore, demand that universities provide more elaborated general education. Global crises and changes affect dramatically East Asia. East Asia has unfortunate histories, sometimes summoned by politics. The ill-fated histories amplify these crises and cause regional tensions. In order to build a healthy foundation for life in East Asia, it is a urgent necessity to carry out collaborative research among general educators and the development of joint educational programs for the students in the region.

Employment and well-being after plant closure: Survey evidence from Switzerland on the mid and long run.

How does plant closure affect the employment and well-being of displaced workers? This article presents the results of two surveys of workers at five manufacturing plants two and 11 years after mass layoffs. After two years, two-thirds of displaced workers had been re-employed, one in five workers was still unemployed, and one in 10 workers had retired. A decade after the plant closures, unemployment had fallen below 5%. Overall, post-displacement outcomes in Switzerland were more favourable than in other European plant closures. However, age disparities loomed large. Older workers struggled to find new jobs and often had to accept large wage cuts and unstable jobs. In particular, many workers in their late forties and early fifties were hit hard as they were too young to benefit from early retirement, but too old to start over.

A Study of Rule Extraction from Double Random Forest to Identify the Characteristics of Working Poor in Jakarta Province, Indonesia

Double Random Forest (DRF) outperforms Random Forest (RF) models, particularly when the RF model is underfitting. DRF generates more diverse and larger trees that significantly improve prediction accuracy. By applying association rule technique, the extracted rules from the DRF model provide an easily understandable interpretation of the characteristics of individuals identified as the working poor in Jakarta. The findings show that DRF performs good predictive performance in classifying poor workers in Jakarta, achieving an AUC value of 79.02%. The extracted rules from this model highlights interactions between education levels, working household member proportion, and job stability that significantly affect the classification of working poor. Specifically, worker with lower education levels, particularly high school or below, show a higher probability of being classified as poor workers. In addition, households with fewer employed members, especially those involving worker in self-employed/employee/freelancer roles, face a greater risk of falling into the poor category due to job instability and limited workforce participation. This implies that the interaction between the low proportion of working household members and low education, the interaction between unstable job position and low proportion of working household members, and the interaction between low education and unstable job position are the most important characteristics of the working poor in Jakarta.

The brave new world of unstable jobs hiding in plain sight: A reply to Murphy and Turner

The article Employment stability and decent work published in the Journal of Industrial Relations by Murphy and Turner presents evidence forming the basis of a claim that job instability has not increased in Ireland between 1998 and 2021. This contrasts with a rich literature in industrial relations and the sociology of work and organizations, which documents the fundamental transformation of employment relationships since the 1990s toward greater insecurity. In this response paper, I question the empirical foundations of Murphy and Turner's claims. Analyzing the same data set used in their study, I provide clear evidence that an increase in job instability consistent with the precarious work literature has been hiding in plain sight. I also engage with their efforts at theorizing the nature of the recent transformation of employment relationships in Ireland specifically, and in Liberal Market Economies more broadly. In doing so, I suggest research avenues that go beyond a polarized debate in whether or not job instability has increased in order to contribute to a more complex understanding of contemporary changes in career trajectories.

A world of unstable jobs is far from the empirical trends displayed in the Irish labour market in the 21st century

Labour market dynamics are complex, limiting the capacity for consensus on a singular phenomenon to account for patterns. In this paper, we present a range of broader empirical trends from the Irish labour market that suggests the possible impact of neoliberal-type policies in the Irish market has been counterbalanced by strong human capital and skills development, growth in higher level occupations and employment protection. Though precarious work is a feature of parts of the labour market, the theoretical assumptions underpinning precarious work we argue should not be extrapolated to explain changes in job stability in the labour market at large.

양육 어려움이 여성 한부모 임금근로자의 우울감에 미치는 영향

As the proportion of female single-parent families has increased in Korea, recent research results show that single mothers with unstable jobs experience additional psychological problems due to their employment instability. Thus, this study examined the effects of parenting difficulties and employment status of employed single mothers with school-age children on their depressive mood and the moderating effect of employment status. Data from the Study on the Status of Single-Parent Families in 2018 (N=988) was analyzed by SPSS PROCESS macro V.4 model 1. The results show that higher levels of parenting difficulties and temporary employment resulted in higher levels of depressive mood, and there was a moderating effect of employment status. That is, the depression level of employed single mothers who experience parenting difficulties was found to be more serious depending on unstable employment status. Based on the results, the relationship among parenting difficulties, depressive mood and unstable employment status of employed single mothers was discussed. Also, social welfare policies and programs to improve the mental health of employed single mothers were suggested.

Culture of masculinity, alcohol consumption and risk to cancer: an international survey

Objective: To understand the underlying cultural effects of masculinity on alcohol consumption and the associated risk for cancer. Method: An exploratory online survey. Data was collected (2018-2019) from 176 men living in 9 countries who responded to an online survey in English, French, Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish. Socio-demographic data and responses to close-ended questions were compiled as descriptive statistics. Responses to the open-ended questions were analyzed using thematic analysis with the pre-established themes: alcohol consumption and its acceptance for men in respondents’ ethno-cultural groups; and thoughts about scientific evidence concerning the consumption of alcohol in high concentration and heightened risk of cancer. Results: Most respondents were under 30 years of age (33.7%). Results across the linguistic sub-samples indicate that among 10 statements, alcohol consumption is part of most students’ life (18.8%), it facilitates acceptance in social groups (16.9%), and it is not repressed at social gatherings (16.6%). Construction (27.5%) was the top among professions in which alcohol consumption is most common. Among situational factors related to alcohol consumption, respondents chose stress (18.1%), unemployment or unstable job (18.0%), and financial trouble (17.9%). Perceptions of acceptance of alcohol consumption are influenced by traditional masculinity-related values, beliefs, and behaviors and the acknowledged lack of cancer literacy were revealed as conditions promoting a risk for cancer. Conclusion- Alcohol consumption is normalized to a certain extent among men of different ages and backgrounds. Evidence informs policymakers and health promoters as they develop legislation and programming to limit unhealthy behavior related to alcohol consumption.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis uptake for high-risk men who have sex with men in China: a multi-city cross-sectional survey

BackgroundPre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a proven biomedical strategy to prevent HIV transmission among men who have sex with men (MSM). Despite oral PrEP is safe and effective in MSM, the use of PrEP has been discouraging, especially in high-risk MSM. And there are no relevant studies showing the use of PrEP in high-risk MSM. The purpose of this study was to get the rate of PrEP use and the factors influencing PrEP use among high-risk MSM.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted through an electronic questionnaire on the “i guardian Platform”, and “snowballing” method was used to recruit MSM in six cities in China, including Beijing, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Changsha, Jinan and Nanjing in China, from January to April 2021. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the factors associated with the use of PrEP among high-risk MSM who had heard about PrEP.ResultsAmong the 1865 high-risk MSM who had heard of PrEP, the rates of those who were willing to use PrEP, had knowledge awareness of PrEP, and had used PrEP were 96.7%, 24.7%, and 22.4%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis of PrEP use in high-risk MSM showed that more PrEP was used by those who were 26 years or older (OR = 1.86, 95%CI 1.17 ~ 2.99), had master degree or above (OR = 2.37, 95% CI 1.21 ~ 4.72), had unstable work (OR = 1.86, 95% CI 1.16 ~ 2.96), had tested five or more HIV times in the past year (OR = 3.09, 95% CI 1.65 ~ 6.04), had consulted PrEP (OR = 22.05, 95% CI 14.87 ~ 33.91) and had PrEP knowledge awareness (OR = 1.90, 95% CI 1.41 ~ 2.55) (P < 0.05).ConclusionsThe rate of PrEP use in high-risk MSM was relatively low. PrEP was used more by high-risk MSM with unstable jobs, higher education, frequent HIV testing, and PrEP counseling. Public education on PrEP for MSM should continue to be enhanced to help them use PrEP in a timely and accurate manner.

A Systematic Literature Review on Career Commitment, Job Insecurity, and Turnover Intentions in the Tourism Industry

The tourism industry is well-known in the services sector. However, unstable jobs and insecure careers have impacts on career commitment, which are major concerns for the relevant stakeholders. The recent experience of the global pandemic COVID-19 has also exacerbated the jobs situation and reiterated the prevailing uncertainty in the tourism industry. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to carry out a systematic literature review (SLR) for exploring and analyzing the published scientific studies on the specific issue and highlight areas for further research. The systematic literature review based on PRISMA framework was follows, considering criteria of identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion. Initially, 200 records were identified, ended with 32 included records for detailed review. Results indicates the use of unethical pro-organization behavior (UPoB), anti-social activities, working conditions, relationship between worker and supervisor, and some controllable and uncontrollable factors significantly impact turnover intentions of employees, requires mitigation through certain staff retention policies, particularly under uncertain and crises driven situations. The study provides further research directions for researchers, related to the theoretical and practical aspects. Limitations of the study are discussed in the concluding part of the article.

The effect of unstable job on employee's turnover intention: The importance of coaching leadership.

Swift social and economic environmental changes such as COVID-19 pandemic have led to increased job insecurity. The current study examines the intermediating mechanism (i.e., mediator) and its contingent factor (i.e., moderator) in the association between job insecurity and employee's turnover intention, especially from the perspective of positive psychology. By establishing a moderated mediation model, this research hypothesizes that the degree of employee meaningfulness in work may mediate the relationship between job insecurity and turnover intention. In addition, coaching leadership may play a buffering role to positively moderate the harmful impact of job insecurity on meaningfulness of work. With three-wave time-lagged data that was collected from 372 employees in South Korean organizations, the current study not only demonstrated that meaningfulness of work mediates the job insecurity-turnover intention relationship, but also that coaching leadership functions as a buffering factor in reducing the harmful influence of job insecurity on meaningfulness of work. The results of this research suggest that the level of meaningfulness of work (as a mediator) as well as coaching leadership (as a moderator) are the underlying processes and the contingent factor in the job insecurity-turnover intention link.