scholarly journals A Capability Approach to Understand the Scarring Effects of Unemployment and Job Insecurity: Developing the Research Agenda

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 937-948
Author(s):  
Valerie Egdell ◽  
Vanessa Beck
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Capability Approach ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Employment Trajectories ◽  
Active Labour ◽  
Labour Market Transitions ◽  
Scarring Effects

Having a poor start in the labour market has a ‘scarring’ effect on future employment and well-being. Indeed, unemployment at any point of the life-course can scar. While there is extensive quantitative research examining scarring effects at the macro- and meso-levels, evidence regarding scarring from the micro-level that provides insights into individual perceptions, values, attitudes and capabilities, and how they shape employment trajectories is lacking. A qualitative approach which avoids the imposition of values and choices onto individuals’ employment trajectories, and accounts more fully for the contextual constraints which shape available options and choices, is argued for. In emphasising people’s substantive freedom of choice, which may be enabled or constrained by contextual conditions, the Capability Approach is proposed as providing a valuable lens to examine complex and insecure labour market transitions. Such an approach stands in contrast to the supply-side focused active labour market policies characteristic of neo-liberal welfare states.

scholarly journals How does a targeted active labour market program impact on the well-being of the unemployed? A concept mapping study on Barcelona “Employment in the Neighbourhoods”

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Puig-Barrachina ◽  
Davide Malmusi ◽  
Lucía Artazcoz ◽  
Xavier Bartoll ◽  
Eva Clotet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Concept Mapping ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mapping Study ◽  
Program Impact ◽  
Active Labour ◽  
The Unemployed

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: economic insecurity and coping strategies of Italian households

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Remo Siza
Keyword(s):  
System Integration ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Family ◽  
Health Accounts ◽  
Work Family ◽  
Mutual Relations

PurposeThis paper offers a contribution to the authors’ understanding of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on living conditions of Italian households. A large part of the research, analysis, comments focused on the relation between the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and income of the Italian households does not capture the extent of the current changes. The focus on the highly differentiated impacts of the pandemic on three core dimensions of social integration (the sphere of work, that of welfare and that of the family) could help the authors to grasp the current transformations.Design/methodology/approachThe research draws on Castel's distinction between three “zones” of post-Fordist employment societies with the aim to identify the processes and the conditions that carry individuals from one “zones” to the other. Theoretical considerations are supported by the findings of several qualitative and quantitative research carried out during the pandemic mainly by government agencies and international organizations as OECD and WHO. The analysis of healthcare expenditure, labour market and economic conditions of households is based on data of system of health accounts – SHA and from consumer studies undertaken by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT). The data on the financial situation and expectations of households during the crisis used in the article were drawn from special surveys carried out by the Bank of Italy.FindingsWhat the authors observe in Italian society is not a collapse of the three pillars of social and system integration of contemporary societies: work, family and welfare. The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed two social and institutional trends, that in last two decades had damaged these spheres of life and that seemed relentless. First, what has been reversed are: the progressive privatization of welfare and the enhancement of the politics of retrenchment; second, values and styles of life, radical processes of individualization, that undermined mutual relations of support and care, and households' ability to cope with old and new risks. At the same time, the pandemic is radicalizing the long-lasting tendency towards job insecurity, a high incidence of low-paid workers and a high proportion of undeclared work. The highly differentiated impacts of the pandemic on these three spheres of life are creating a wider plurality of living conditions and risks.Social implicationsThe findings suggest that what the authors need is to reopen the debate on welfare priorities, programmes and areas of intervention, on public-private relationship that have been established in many sectors of welfare in the last decades in many European countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance welfare programmes capable of recognising the autonomous capacities of the family and informal relations to produce well-being, to cope with the crisis and to produce supportive relationships.Originality/valueThe pandemic highlighted that a progressive reduction of expenditure and politics of retrenchment produced welfare not able to face the needs of a large part of households. The pandemic highlighted that the changes that have taken place in the sphere of work, welfare and of the family in the last years have produced less and less governable effects.

scholarly journals How does a targeted active labour market program impact on the well-being of the unemployed? A Concept Mapping study on Barcelona “Employment in the Neighbourhoods”

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Puig-Barrachina ◽  
Davide Malmusi ◽  
Lucía Artazcoz ◽  
Xavier Bartoll ◽  
Eva Clotet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Concept Mapping ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Scaling Analysis ◽  
Labour Market Situation ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Active Labour

Abstract Background: The “Employment in the neighbourhoods” program is an innovative, tailor-made Active Labour Market Program that has been implemented in 12 neighbourhoods in Barcelona (Spain). Its goal is to get people from deprived, high-unemployment neighbourhoods back to work. The aim of this study was to describe the effects of the program on participants’ quality of life, and identify the mechanisms underlying these effects, according to their own perception and the perception of technical staff who assisted them. Methods: We used Concept Mapping, a mixed methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative analysis, to develop a conceptual map of the participants’ and technical staffs’ perceptions about changes in the participants’ quality of life. Data collection occurred within the generation and structuring steps where participants brainstormed answers to a focus question, and then rated and sorted the responses. To create maps, we used Concept Systems Incorporated software, which conducted two main forms of analysis, a multidimensional scaling analysis, and a hierarchical cluster analysis. Results: Study participants reported several positive effects on mental health and emotional wellbeing, including self-esteem and empowerment, and considered that this was achieved through strengthened social networks, skills acquisition, emotional coaching, and personalized technical assistance. They also described some negative impacts, mainly related to the labour market situation. We observed marked gender differences in the discourses of program participants. Conclusions: The results obtained have allowed us to identify different perceived effects and mechanisms by which the “Employment in the Neighbourhoods” Active Labour Market Programme can influence quality of life of participants from the most deprived areas of Barcelona. Keywords Active labour market programs, unemployment, Barcelona City (Spain), deprived neighbourhoods, gender, quality of life, concept mapping.

scholarly journals Labour Market Insecurity: The Effects of Job, Employment and Income Insecurity on the Mental Well-being of Employees

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrik Vulkan
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Employment Insecurity ◽  
Income Insecurity ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
Affective Dimensions

This article proposes that the insecurity facing employees in the labour market can be viewed as a multifaceted concept that encompasses job insecurity, employment insecurity and income insecurity, as well as the cognitive and affective dimensions of each of these. The results indicate the validity of using this concept in order to better understand how insecurity relates to mental well-being by affecting both the manifest and latent functions of work.

scholarly journals How does a targeted active labour market program impact on the well-being of the unemployed? A Concept Mapping study on Barcelona “Employment in the Neighbourhoods”

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Puig-Barrachina ◽  
Davide Malmusi ◽  
Lucía Artazcoz ◽  
Xavier Bartoll ◽  
Eva Clotet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Concept Mapping ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Scaling Analysis ◽  
Labour Market Situation ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Active Labour

Abstract Background: The “Employment in the neighbourhoods” program is an innovative, tailor-made Active Labour Market Program that has been implemented in 12 neighbourhoods in Barcelona (Spain). Its goal is to get people from deprived, high-unemployment neighbourhoods back to work. The aim of this study was to describe the effects of the program on participants’ quality of life, and identify the mechanisms underlying these effects, according to their own perception and the perception of technical staff who assisted them. Methods: We used Concept Mapping, a mixed methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative analysis, to develop a conceptual map of the participants’ and technical staffs’ perceptions about changes in the participants’ quality of life. Data were collected during the generation and structuring steps, where participants brainstormed answers to a focus question, and then rate and sort the responses. To create maps, we used Concept Systems Incorporated software, which conducted two main forms of analysis, a multidimensional scaling analysis, and a hierarchical cluster analysis. Results: Study participants reported several positive effects on mental health and emotional wellbeing, including self-esteem and empowerment, and considered that this was achieved through strengthened social networks, skills acquisition, emotional coaching, and personalized technical assistance. They also described some negative impacts, mainly related to the labour market situation. We observed marked gender differences in the discourses of program participants.Conclusions: The results obtained have allowed us to identify different perceived effects and mechanisms by which the “Employment in the Neighbourhoods” Active Labour Market Programme can influence quality of life of participants from the most deprived areas of Barcelona.

scholarly journals New Welfare, New Policies: Towards Preventive Worker-Directed Active Labour-Market Policies

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rik van Berkel ◽  
Paul van der Aa
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Labour Market Policies ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
Active Labour Market Policies ◽  
Active Labour ◽  
The Social ◽  
Labour Market Transitions ◽  
New Policies ◽  
Market Transitions

AbstractDebates about the new welfare, and the new social policies that go (or should go) with it, share an emphasis on risk-prevention strategies and pluralistic risk management. Focusing specifically on the risk of unemployment, this article discusses the case for so-called preventive worker-directed active labour market policies as part of the new welfare architecture. These policies are aimed at preventing unemployment and promoting labour-market transitions and employability. They involve responsibilities on the part of the state, social partners and employers. First, the case for these policies is elaborated by analysing the social investment, flexicurity and transitional labour-market literature. In this context, several issues related to the feasibility of the pluralistic management of preventing unemployment, as well as the possible impact of pluralistic risk management on dualisation, are discussed. Secondly, recent policy initiatives in the Netherlands are presented as an illustration of the incremental emergence of preventive worker-directed active labour-market policies. It is argued that although these policy initiatives were initially introduced as responses to the crisis, they may eventually turn out to reflect a more fundamental reorientation in managing and dealing with the risks of unemployment. The conclusion critically reflects and argues that pluralistic risk management may exacerbate, rather than mitigate, the insecurities of flexible and non-standard workers.

scholarly journals How does a targeted active labour market program impact on the well-being of the unemployed? A Concept Mapping study on Barcelona “Employment in the Neighbourhoods”

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Puig-Barrachina ◽  
Davide Malmusi ◽  
Lucía Artazcoz ◽  
Xavier Bartoll ◽  
Eva Clotet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Concept Mapping ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Scaling Analysis ◽  
Labour Market Situation ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Active Labour

Abstract Background: The “Employment in the neighbourhoods” program is an innovative, tailor-made Active Labour Market Program that has been implemented in 12 neighbourhoods in Barcelona (Spain). Its goal is to get people from deprived, high-unemployment neighbourhoods back to work. The aim of this study was to describe the effects of the program on participants’ quality of life, and identify the mechanisms underlying these effects, according to their own perception and the perception of technical staff who assisted them. Methods: We used Concept Mapping, a mixed methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative analysis, to develop a conceptual map of the participants’ and technical staffs’ perceptions about changes in the participants’ quality of life. Data collection occurred within the generation and structuring steps where participants brainstormed answers to a focus question, and then rated and sorted the responses. To create maps, we used Concept Systems Incorporated software, which conducted two main forms of analysis, a multidimensional scaling analysis, and a hierarchical cluster analysis. Results: Study participants reported several positive effects on mental health and emotional wellbeing, including self-esteem and empowerment, and considered that this was achieved through strengthened social networks, skills acquisition, emotional coaching, and personalized technical assistance. They also described some negative impacts, mainly related to the labour market situation. We observed marked gender differences in the discourses of program participants. Conclusions: The results obtained have allowed us to identify different perceived effects and mechanisms by which the “Employment in the Neighbourhoods” Active Labour Market Programme can influence quality of life of participants from the most deprived areas of Barcelona. Keywords Active labour market programs, unemployment, Barcelona City (Spain), deprived neighbourhoods, gender, quality of life, concept mapping.

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