Precarious work, precarious health: the impact of precarious employment on young adults' health and wellbeing in the UK

对于年轻人来说，向高质量的工作过渡变得越来越具有挑战性，许多人在能够获得高质量的工作之前，要在低质量的“入门级”工作之间花费更多的时间。先前的社会学研究强调，越来越多的年轻人进入了难以摆脱的不稳定就业的长期循环。吸取2008年经济衰退的教训，2019冠状病毒病大流行很可能会加剧这些趋势，裁员导致高质量工作岗位流失，取而代之的是质量较低、更不安全的就业岗位。虽然关于不稳定就业对健康影响的研究越来越多，但在公共卫生领域，这仍然是一个研究不足的问题。这项研究将采用混合方法，重点关注青年人在劳动力市场的经历及其对其健康结果和健康行为的影响。该项目将首先通过访谈和基于日记的研究方法，完成对居住在纽卡斯尔从事不稳定工作的18-26岁年轻人的定性研究，探索年轻人如何经历不稳定的工作及其对他们健康和福祉的影响。然后，该项目将使用英国家庭小组研究“理解社会”完成纵向数据分析。这项分析将提供长期的见解，了解在这个关键年龄接触不稳定的就业如何影响未来的健康结果。该项目将为公共卫生做出新的理论贡献，并为正在进行的有关提高年轻人工作质量和减轻COVID-19大流行最严重影响的政策辩论作出有意义的贡献。

Transitioning into high-quality work has become increasingly challenging for young adults, with many spending more time moving between low-quality, 'entry-level' jobs before they are able to secure high-quality work. Previous sociological research has highlighted a growing cohort of young adults entering chronic cycles of precarious employment that are difficult to escape.Learning from the 2008 recession, it is likely that the COVID-19 pandemic will exacerbate these trends, with high-quality jobs lost through redundancies replaced with lower-quality, less secure employment. Whilst there is a growing body of research on the health impacts of precarious employment, this remains an under-researched issue in the public health field.This study will focus on young people's experiences of the labour market and the effect on their health outcomes and health behaviours, applying a mixed-methods approach. The project will first complete a qualitative study of young adults aged between 18-26-years-old living in Newcastle engaged in precarious forms of work, through interview and diary-based research methods, exploring how young adults experience precarious work and its impact on their health and wellbeing. The project will then complete longitudinal data analysis using Understanding Society, a UK household panel study. This analysis will provide longer-term insights on how exposure to precarious employment during this critical age could impact future health outcomes.The project will develop new theoretical contributions for public health and meaningfully contribute to ongoing policy debates on improving work quality for young people and mitigating the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.