The Longer-Term Impact of COVID-19 on Precarious Workers

在2019冠状病毒病大流行期间，经济刺激计划帮助一些不稳定工人（从事临时合同工作和非自愿兼职工作的工人）减少债务、接受额外教育或转行。该项目考察了随着冠状病毒成为流行病，冠状病毒大流行对零工和不稳定工人的长期影响，以及由此产生的短期财政支持。该项目调查了从事不稳定工作（通常面向公众）的工人如何看待该病毒潜在的持续风险，以及改变职业或努力建立替代收入来源的“最佳时机”。该项目的研究结果为工作场所保护、工人分类、失业保险计划改革以及危机期间的财政支持等多个层面的决策提供了依据。本项目是一项混合方法小组研究的第四阶段，该研究利用对近200名零工和不稳定工人进行的访谈和调查。参与者包括通过网络平台找工作的零工、创意领域的自由职业者、快餐和零售从业者。虽然早期的数据收集阶段恰逢大流行的开始、第二波浪潮和失业援助的结束，但这一阶段恰逢冠状病毒被视为流行病和covid-19紧急声明的结束。该项目的研究结果为社会学理论提供了有关不稳定工作、工作流动性和政府支持在流行病学自然灾害中的作用的信息。研究结果还为有关美国就业、社会保障网络的不同准入以及危机期间政府高水平财政支持的影响的理论提供了依据。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, economic stimulus programs helped some precarious workers – those engaged in temporary, contract-based work, and involuntary part-time work – to reduce debt, pursue additional education, or change careers. This project examines the longer-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and resulting short-lived financial supports, on gig-based and precarious workers as the coronavirus becomes endemic. The project examines how workers in precarious jobs, which are often public facing, perceive the potential ongoing risks of the virus and the “sweet spot” of timing regarding career changes or efforts to establish alternative income sources. Findings from the project inform decision-making at several levels, including workplace protections, worker classification, changes to unemployment insurance programs, and financial supports during a crisis.This project is the fourth stage of a mixed methods panel study utilizing interviews and surveys conducted with nearly 200 gig-based and precarious workers. Participants include gig workers who find work via online platforms, freelance workers in creative fields, and fast food and retail workers. While the earlier data collection phases coincided with the start of the pandemic, the second wave, and the end of unemployment assistance, this phase coincides with the coronavirus being deemed endemic and the end of the covid-19 emergency declaration. Findings from the project inform sociological theories regarding precarious work, job mobility, and the role of governmental support in an epidemiological natural disaster. Findings also inform theories regarding differential access to the U.S. employment social safety net and the impact of high levels of governmental financial support during a crisis.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.