University of Tasmania
Browse

File(s) not publicly available

The global expansion of precarious employment, work disorganization, and consequences for occupational health: placing the debate in a comparative historical context

Version 2 2024-10-28, 04:08
Version 1 2023-05-20, 14:04
journal contribution
posted on 2024-10-28, 04:08 authored by M Quinlan, C Mayhew, Philip BohlePhilip Bohle
Mounting research evidence suggests that the shift to contingent work arrangements in industrialized countries is having serious adverse effects on the health of workers, both directly and indirectly (by undermining regulatory and other protections). The authors place this research, and the issues surrounding it, in a comparative historical context. Extensive use of precarious employment is not essentially new. It was a characteristic feature of most if not all industrialized societies in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Though the two phases are not identical, historical comparisons are instructive for understanding recent experiences and ways of addressing them. The authors also make comparisons with the developing world, where the informal sector typically accounts for over half the workforce. Such comparisons are instructive in indicating the consequences of a shift to more precarious patterns of employment and disorganized work settings. There is also good evidence that precarious employment is expanding in the developing world. The growing precarious employment in both industrialized and developing countries is interconnected, and the authors identify a number of the mechanisms affecting workers' health.

History

Publication title

International Journal of Health Services

Volume

31

Issue

3

Pagination

507-536

ISSN

0020-7314

Department/School

TSBE

Publisher

Baywood Publ Co Inc

Publication status

  • Published

Place of publication

26 Austin Ave, Amityville, USA, Ny, 11701

Socio-economic Objectives

130306 Workplace and organisational ethics (excl. business ethics)

Usage metrics

    University Of Tasmania

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC