Do Workers Speak Up When Feeling Job Insecure? Examining Workers’ Response to Precarity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Hye Jin Rho, Christine Riordan, Christian Lyhne Ibsen, J. Ryan Lamare, Maite Tapia

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic inflicted unprecedented precarity upon workers, including concerns about job insecurity. We examine whether workers respond to job insecurity with voice, and assess the role of unions, managers, and employment arrangements in this relationship. Analyses of an original 2020 survey representative of Illinois and Michigan workers show that job insecurity is not significantly associated with voice. Further, while we find that union membership and confidence in organized labor are positively associated with voice, insecure workers are less likely to speak up than secure workers as confidence in organized labor increases. Last, we find that insecure nonstandard workers are less likely to use voice than their secure counterparts.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)97-129
Number of pages33
JournalWork and Occupations
Volume50
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2023

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • employment precarity
  • job security
  • nonstandard work
  • unions
  • voice

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

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