Non-Standard Employment and Unemployment during the COVID-19 Crisis: Economic and Health Findings from a Six-Country Survey Study

Virginia Gunn, Alejandra Vives, Alessandro Zaupa, Julio C. Hernando-Rodriguez, Mireia Julià, Signild Kvart, Wayne Lewchuk, Eva Padrosa, Mattias Philippe Vos, Emily Q. Ahonen, Sherry Baron, Kim Bosmans, Letitia Davis, Ignacio Díaz, Nuria Matilla-Santander, Carles Muntaner, Patricia O’Campo, Per-Olof Östergren, Christophe Vanroelen, Emilia F. Vignola and Theo Bodin
Additional contact information
Virginia Gunn: Unit of Occupational Medicine, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 11365 Stockholm, Sweden
Alejandra Vives: Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8330077, Chile
Alessandro Zaupa: Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8330077, Chile
Julio C. Hernando-Rodriguez: Unit of Occupational Medicine, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 11365 Stockholm, Sweden
Mireia Julià: ESIMar (Mar Nursing School), Parc de Salut Mar, Universitat Pompeu Fabra-Affiliated, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Signild Kvart: Unit of Occupational Medicine, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 11365 Stockholm, Sweden
Wayne Lewchuk: Department of Economics and School of Labour Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8P4M9, Canada
Eva Padrosa: ESIMar (Mar Nursing School), Parc de Salut Mar, Universitat Pompeu Fabra-Affiliated, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Mattias Philippe Vos: Interface Demography, Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Emily Q. Ahonen: Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA
Sherry Baron: Barry Commoner Center for Health and the Environment, Queens College, City University of New York, New York, NY 11367, USA
Kim Bosmans: Interface Demography, Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Letitia Davis: Independent Researcher, Boston, MA 02108, USA
Ignacio Díaz: Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8330077, Chile
Nuria Matilla-Santander: Unit of Occupational Medicine, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 11365 Stockholm, Sweden
Carles Muntaner: Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, St. George Campus, Toronto, ON M5T 1P8, Canada
Patricia O’Campo: MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8, Canada
Per-Olof Östergren: Social Medicine and Global Health, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, 20205 Malmö, Sweden
Christophe Vanroelen: Interface Demography, Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Emilia F. Vignola: Department of Community Health and Social Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY 10025, USA
Theo Bodin: Unit of Occupational Medicine, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 11365 Stockholm, Sweden

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 10, 1-27

Abstract: The COVID-19 crisis is a global event that has created and amplified social inequalities, including an already existing and steadily increasing problem of employment and income insecurity and erosion of workplace rights, affecting workers globally. The aim of this exploratory study was to review employment-related determinants of health and health protection during the pandemic, or more specifically, to examine several links between non-standard employment, unemployment, economic, health, and safety outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Canada, the United States, and Chile, based on an online survey conducted from November 2020 to June 2021. The study focused on both non-standard workers and unemployed workers and examined worker outcomes in the context of current type and duration of employment arrangements, as well as employment transitions triggered by the COVID-19 crisis. The results suggest that COVID-19-related changes in non-standard worker employment arrangements, or unemployment, are related to changes in work hours, income, and benefits, as well as the self-reported prevalence of suffering from severe to extreme anxiety or depression. The results also suggest a link between worker type, duration of employment arrangements, or unemployment, and the ability to cover regular expenses during the pandemic. Additionally, the findings indicate that the type and duration of employment arrangements are related to the provision of personal protective equipment or other COVID-19 protection measures. This study provides additional evidence that workers in non-standard employment and the unemployed have experienced numerous and complex adverse effects of the pandemic and require additional protection through tailored pandemic responses and recovery strategies.

Keywords: health equity; social inequalities; poverty; worker health and well-being; mental health; occupational health and safety; transitions towards non-standard employment and unemployment; income and employment insecurities; lack of workplace rights; pandemic responses and recovery strategies; atypical employment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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