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的工人--那些从事临时、合同制工作和非自愿兼职工作的人--减少债务、接受额外教育或改变职业。该项目研究了冠状病毒大流行的长期影响，以及随着冠状病毒成为流行病而产生的短期财政支持对基于零工和不稳定的工人的影响。该项目审查了从事往往面向公众的不稳定工作的工人如何看待病毒的潜在持续风险以及职业改变或努力建立替代收入来源的“最佳时机”。该项目的调查结果为多个层面的决策提供了信息，包括工作场所保护，工人分类，失业保险计划的变化以及危机期间的财政支持。该项目是一项混合方法小组研究的第四阶段，该研究利用了对近200名基于工作场所和不稳定工人进行的访谈和调查。参与者包括通过在线平台找到工作的零工，创意领域的自由职业者以及快餐和零售工人。虽然早期的数据收集阶段恰逢大流行的开始、第二波和失业援助的结束，但这一阶段恰逢冠状病毒被视为地方性流行和COVID-19紧急声明的结束。该项目的调查结果为关于不稳定工作、工作流动性以及政府支持在流行病自然灾害中的作用的社会学理论提供了信息。调查结果还通知有关的理论差异获得美国就业的社会安全网和高水平的政府财政支持在危机期间的影响。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

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.