2009/02/01 by Arne L. Kalleberg · 9 citations
Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Employment and Welfare Studies #Labor Movements and Unions #Social Policy and Reform Studies #Precarious work #Work (physics) #Politics #Sociology #Precarity #State (computer science) #Foundation (evidence) #Political economy #Political science #Transition (genetics) #Gender studies #Law
paper · doi:10.1177/000312240907400101
openalex publication_date 2009/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
The growth of precarious work since the 1970s has emerged as a core contemporary concern within politics, in the media, and among researchers. Uncertain and unpredictable work contrasts with the relative security that characterized the three decades following World War II. Precarious work constitutes a global challenge that has a wide range of consequences cutting across many areas of concern to sociologists. Hence, it is increasingly important to understand the new workplace arrangements that generate precarious work and worker insecurity. A focus on employment relations forms the foundation of theories of the institutions and structures that generate precarious work and the cultural and individual factors that influence people's responses to uncertainty. Sociologists are well-positioned to explain, offer insight, and provide input into public policy about such changes and the state of contemporary employment relations.