Do Workers Speak Up When Feeling Job Insecure? Examining Workers' Response to Precarity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

The COVID-19 pandemic inflicted unprecedented precarity upon workers, including concerns about job insecurity. We examine whether workers respond to job insecurity with voice, and assess the role of unions, managers, and employment arrangements in this relationship. Analyses of an original 2020 survey representative of Illinois and Michigan workers show that job insecurity is not significantly associated with voice. Further, while we find that union membership and confidence in organized labor are positively associated with voice, insecure workers are less likely to speak up than secure workers as confidence in organized labor increases. Last, we find that insecure nonstandard workers are less likely to use voice than their secure counterparts.
Original languageEnglish
JournalWork and Occupations
Volume50
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)97–129
ISSN0730-8884
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

    Research areas

  • job security, employment precarity, voice, unions, nonstandard work, COVID-19

ID: 330534221