How Do Young Workers Perceive Job Insecurity? Legitimising Frames for Precarious Work in England and Germany

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2374749
AutoresVera Trappmann (0000-0002-7945-4536, Leeds University Business School, UK, autor de correspondencia), Charles Umney (0000-0001-5757-920X, Leeds University Business School, UK), Christopher J Mclachlan (0000-0002-4867-9409, Queen Mary University of London), Alexandra Seehaus (0000-0002-4053-2170, Leeds University Business School, UK), Laura Cartwright (University of Leeds)
Año2024
Volumen38
Número4
Páginas998-1020
Fecha de publicación2024-08-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaWork Employment and Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0950-0170 • E-ISSN: 1469-8722
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/09500170231187821
OpenAlexW4387369398
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas20
Referencias citadas62

This article examines the legitimising frames young workers in England and Germany apply to precarious work. Through 63 qualitative biographical interviews, the article shows that most young precarious workers saw work insecurity as an unavoidable fact of life whose legitimacy could not realistically be challenged. Four frames are identified that led to precarious work being seen as legitimate: precarious work as a driver of entrepreneurialism; as inevitable due to repeated exposure; as a stage within the life course; and as the price paid for the pursuit of autonomy and meaningful work. The article advances the literature on precarious workers' subjectivity by identifying the frames through which it is legitimised, and by underlining the importance of frames that are currently underexamined. The prevalence of the pursuit of meaningful, non-alienating work as a frame is a particularly striking finding

Autonomy · Criminology · Epistemology · Frame (networking · Job insecurity · Legitimacy · Life course approach · Political science · Precarious work · Precarity · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Subjectivity · Work (physics · Employment and Welfare Studies · Gender Studies · Law · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Psychology · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics