Social implications of precarious work

Project

From December 2015 to March 2018, Conference and report launch organized with TASC

The Social Implications of Precarious Work is a joint project of FEPS (Foundation for European Progressive Studies) and TASC.

There is a growing awareness of the extent of precarious work – especially for young adults.

According to the negative view, more and more young people are being locked into insecure employment. Jobs that were once a job for life have become a job for the week – if you’re lucky. According to a more positive alternative perspective, young people are now self-starting individuals who can now build their portfolio careers and take responsibility for their own futures.

The project begins by assessing these claims, documenting the extent and form of precarious work in Ireland today. Who works precariously, in what way and in what sort of occupations? Has such work really increased and in what way?

The second part of the project focuses on the implications of precarious work for people’s lives. For example, to what extent has precarious work made people put off having children because they have no regular employment?

Finally, an expansion of precarious work could have broader impacts on society as a whole. For example, if employment becomes more precarious and irregular, this may undermine training systems and even the welfare state itself.

Publications

• Living with uncertainty: the social implications of precarious work