The Employment Conditions Network (GREDS-EMCONET) of the Department of Political and Social Sciences at UPF, has recently published an article in the prestigious International Journal of Epidemiology.

The paper, signed by Joan Benach (director of GREDS-EMCONET), Alejandra Vives, Gemma Tarafa, Carlos Delclós and Carles Muntaner, proposes a research agenda for the next decade to help understand the relationship between the job insecurity and health, and that establishes a suitable research programme to expand our understanding of the complex causes of this major social problem.

A whole set of factors that are still hardly studied, such as the generalization of insecurity in increasingly flexible labour markets, the decline in the influence and bargaining power of the trade unions and the degradation of social protection have meant that in recent years new forms of flexible employment have appeared, that have reduced more secure and protected working relationships.

Challenges for the new global research agenda

One of the most urgent needs that requires broaching are the consequences that the new kinds of precarious jobs have on the health and well-being of workers and their families, while there are severe inequalities in the health of social groups. One example of this is the high level of precariousness among women, immigrants, the young and the working class, which has a negative impact on their health.

Some of the challenges for research are to establish clearer definitions and standardized indicators of key concepts (such as “unstable employment conditions”) and to have the best measuring instruments, information systems and study designs. This should allow a more detailed understanding of the ways and mechanisms through which unstable employment conditions can damage workers’ health, including those who have a better employment situation.

A multidimensional approach that considers diversity in the workplace

This research task requires a new approach based on multi-dimensional constructs of job insecurity, such as the EPRES scale developed by the GREDS-EMCONET group, which also takes into account a longitudinal perspective over time, since the different conditions of insecurity cannot be analysed in isolation or statically.

The diversity of labour market regimes in the world today needs considering, as well as the links between labour reforms and employment conditions, work and health, along with other factors of social inequalities, such as gender, social class or immigration status.

Scientific advances in this field must be used to help tackle the theoretical and political debates that link insecurity with working conditions, health and quality of life with important social concepts such as labour reforms, flexicurity schemes or protectionism of the labour market, among others.

Reference work:

J. Benach, A. Vives, G. Tarafa, C. Delclós and C. Muntaner, “What should we know about precarious employment and health in 2025? Framing the agenda for the next decade of research”, January 2016, doi:10.1093/dyv342.