zero-hours contracts
gig economy
According to sociologist Arne Kalleberg, precarious labor is work that is perceived by workers to be “uncertain, unpredictable, and risky.” Precarious labor is one consequence of the generalization and spread of various forms of insecurity since the 1970s. Precarization represents a rupture from the postwar period (marked by high levels of social security) and a return to the pre-World War II period, with a noticeable difference: all jobs have become more precarious, thereby creating a class that economist Guy Standing calls the “precariat.” As a result, the common view of a dual labor market with a relatively secure and well-compensated primary labor market (good jobs) and a more precarious secondary labor market (bad jobs) no longer holds. [Source: Sociology of Work: An Encyclopedia; Precarious Labor]
Uber
stratification, power and inequality at work
precarious labor
concepts