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

在新冠肺炎大流行期间，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的人--减少债务、继续深造或转行。该项目审查了冠状病毒大流行的长期影响，以及随着冠状病毒成为地方性疾病，对从事零工和危险工作的工人所产生的短期财政支持。该项目调查了从事不稳定工作的工人如何认识到病毒的潜在持续风险，以及关于转业或努力建立替代收入来源的时机的“甜蜜点”。该项目的发现为几个层面的决策提供了参考，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务支持。该项目是一项混合方法小组研究的第四阶段，该小组研究利用对近200名零工和不稳定工人进行的采访和调查。参与者包括通过在线平台找到工作的零工工人，创意领域的自由职业者，以及快餐业和零售业的工人。虽然早期的数据收集阶段恰逢大流行的开始、第二波疫情和失业援助的结束，但这一阶段恰好与冠状病毒被视为地方性疾病和新冠肺炎紧急声明的结束相吻合。该项目的发现为有关工作不稳定、工作流动性和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。调查结果还为有关在危机期间不同地获得美国就业社会安全网和高水平政府财政支持的影响的理论提供了参考。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.