Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Department of Sociology, Interface Demography, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium.
City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, Department of Community Health and Social Sciences, 55 West 125th Street, New York, NY, 10027, United States.
Soc Sci Med. 2023 Jun;327:115970. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115970. Epub 2023 May 17.
In recent decades, economic crises and political reforms focused on employment flexibilization have increased the use of non-standard employment (NSE). National political and economic contexts determine how employers interact with labour and how the state interacts with labour markets and manages social welfare policies. These factors influence the prevalence of NSE and the level of employment insecurity it creates, but the extent to which a country's policy context mitigates the health influences of NSE is unclear. This study describes how workers experience insecurities created by NSE, and how this influences their health and well-being, in countries with different welfare states: Belgium, Canada, Chile, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. Interviews with 250 workers in NSE were analysed using a multiple-case study approach. Workers in all countries experienced multiple insecurities (e.g., income and employment insecurity) and relational tension with employers/clients, with negative health and well-being influences, in ways that were shaped by social inequalities (e.g., related to family support or immigration status). Welfare state differences were reflected in the level of workers' exclusion from social protections, the time scale of their insecurity (threatening daily survival or longer-term life planning), and their ability to derive a sense of control from NSE. Workers in Belgium, Sweden, and Spain, countries with more generous welfare states, navigated these insecurities with greater success and with less influence on health and well-being. Findings contribute to our understanding of the health and well-being influences of NSE across different welfare regimes and suggest the need in all six countries for stronger state responses to NSE. Increased investment in universal and more equal rights and benefits in NSE could reduce the widening gap between standard and NSE.
近几十年来，以就业灵活化为重点的经济危机和政治改革增加了非标准就业（NSE）的使用。国家政治和经济背景决定了雇主如何与劳动力互动，以及国家如何与劳动力市场互动和管理社会福利政策。这些因素影响 NSE 的流行程度和它所造成的就业不安全感程度，但一个国家的政策环境在多大程度上减轻了 NSE 的健康影响尚不清楚。本研究描述了在不同福利国家的背景下，工人是如何经历 NSE 带来的不安全感的，以及这种不安全感是如何影响他们的健康和福祉的：比利时、加拿大、智利、西班牙、瑞典和美国。采用多案例研究方法，对 250 名从事 NSE 的工人进行了访谈。所有国家的工人都经历了多种不安全感（例如收入和就业不安全感），以及与雇主/客户的关系紧张，对健康和福祉产生负面影响，这种影响是由社会不平等造成的（例如与家庭支持或移民身份有关）。福利国家的差异反映在工人被排除在社会保护之外的程度、他们不安全感的时间尺度（威胁到日常生存或长期生活规划），以及他们从 NSE 中获得控制感的能力。在福利国家较为慷慨的比利时、瑞典和西班牙，工人成功地应对了这些不安全感，对健康和福祉的影响较小。研究结果有助于我们理解不同福利制度下 NSE 的健康和福祉影响，并表明所有六个国家都需要对 NSE 做出更强有力的国家回应。增加对 NSE 中普遍和平等权利和福利的投资，可以缩小标准就业和 NSE 之间的差距。
