Promoting social cohesion and convergence

Societal implications of labour market instability

Report

Published: 29 August 2023

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Author(s):

Sándor, Eszter; Maftei, Anamaria; Anzillotti, Marta; Bell, Gillian

Key findings

While short-term temporary contracts have become less common among employees in the past decade, they are still relatively widespread in some Member States, mostly among young people and non-nationals with low levels of education who cannot find a permanent job, particularly in the education and health sectors. Temporary workers often work long hours, feel underemployed and are most likely to be looking for other jobs.
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While short-term temporary contracts have become less common among employees in the past decade, they are still relatively widespread in some Member States, mostly among young people and non-nationals with low levels of education who cannot find a permanent job, particularly in the education and health sectors. Temporary workers often work long hours, feel underemployed and are most likely to be looking for other jobs.
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Both non-permanent contracts and job insecurity are associated with lower trust in other people and a lower perception of fairness. Workers on a non-permanent contract and workers with no formal contract are less satisfied with the functioning of democracy in their country, as are people experiencing job insecurity.
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People with non-permanent contracts, as well as those experiencing job insecurity, are less likely to vote in elections, even when non-nationals ineligible to vote (who are overrepresented in these categories) are excluded from the analysis. They are also less likely to participate in demonstrations, which is symptomatic of disengagement.
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Care responsibilities are the main reason for part-time work, with women nearly three times as likely to work part time as men, and the difference is even larger between those who are parents and those who are not. While involuntary part-time work has been on the decline since the Great Recession years, part-time workers are more willing to work additional hours and are more likely to look for another job than full-time workers, reinforcing previous findings that some ‘voluntary’ part-time work is done out of necessity.
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While fixed-term contracts were not found to be associated with well-being, perceived job insecurity is however associated with lower life satisfaction, poorer health and mental well-being, and a greater likelihood of feeling excluded from society. The association between social exclusion and job insecurity is similar to the relationship between social exclusion and unemployment, suggesting that the threat of unemployment is enough to make workers feel excluded from society.
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Abstract

This report investigates the social groups whose attachment to the labour market may be unstable and who are most likely to have non-standard working arrangements, and the implications of such arrangements, and job insecurity, for workers’ well-being, social exclusion, trust, perception of fairness and political participation. The report finds that non-permanent contracts, informal work and insecure jobs are associated with negative outcomes when it comes to social exclusion and trust, while job insecurity is additionally associated with poorer well-being. Recent examples of policies addressing labour market instability are also presented, focusing on longer-term measures in the post-pandemic period.