Non-Standard Employment and Unemployment during the COVID-19 Crisis: Economic and Health Findings from a Six-Country Survey Study

Virginia Gunn^{1

2

3}, Alejandra Vives^{4

5}, Alessandro Zaupa⁴, Julio C Hernando-Rodriguez¹, Mireia Julià^{6

7

8}, Signild Kvart¹, Wayne Lewchuk⁹, Eva Padrosa^{6

7

8}, Mattias Philippe Vos¹⁰, Emily Q Ahonen¹¹, Sherry Baron¹², Kim Bosmans¹⁰, Letitia Davis¹³, Ignacio Díaz⁴, Nuria Matilla-Santander¹, Carles Muntaner^{3

14

15}, Patricia O'Campo^{2

14}, Per-Olof Östergren¹⁶, Christophe Vanroelen¹⁰, Emilia F Vignola¹⁷, Theo Bodin^{1

18}

Affiliations

¹ Unit of Occupational Medicine, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 11365 Stockholm, Sweden.
² MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8, Canada.
³ Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, St. George Campus, Toronto, ON M5T 1P8, Canada.
⁴ Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8330077, Chile.
⁵ CEDEUS-Center for Sustainable Urban Development, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7520246, Chile.
⁶ ESIMar (Mar Nursing School), Parc de Salut Mar, Universitat Pompeu Fabra-Affiliated, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
⁷ Social Determinants and Health Education Research Group (SDHEd), Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
⁸ Research Group on Health Inequalities, Environment, and Employment Conditions Network (GREDS-EMCONET), Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08005 Barcelona, Spain.
⁹ Department of Economics and School of Labour Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8P4M9, Canada.
¹⁰ Interface Demography, Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
¹¹ Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA.
¹² Barry Commoner Center for Health and the Environment, Queens College, City University of New York, New York, NY 11367, USA.
¹³ Independent Researcher, Boston, MA 02108, USA.
¹⁴ Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 1P8, Canada.
¹⁵ Department of Mental Health, The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MA 21205, USA.
¹⁶ Social Medicine and Global Health, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, 20205 Malmö, Sweden.
¹⁷ Department of Community Health and Social Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY 10025, USA.
¹⁸ Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Stockholm Region, 11365 Stockholm, Sweden.

PMID: 35627402
PMCID: PMC9140645
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19105865

Non-Standard Employment and Unemployment during the COVID-19 Crisis: Economic and Health Findings from a Six-Country Survey Study

Virginia Gunn et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022.

. 2022 May 11;19(10):5865.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph19105865.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Unit of Occupational Medicine, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 11365 Stockholm, Sweden.
² MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8, Canada.
³ Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, St. George Campus, Toronto, ON M5T 1P8, Canada.
⁴ Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8330077, Chile.
⁵ CEDEUS-Center for Sustainable Urban Development, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7520246, Chile.
⁶ ESIMar (Mar Nursing School), Parc de Salut Mar, Universitat Pompeu Fabra-Affiliated, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
⁷ Social Determinants and Health Education Research Group (SDHEd), Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
⁸ Research Group on Health Inequalities, Environment, and Employment Conditions Network (GREDS-EMCONET), Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08005 Barcelona, Spain.
⁹ Department of Economics and School of Labour Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8P4M9, Canada.
¹⁰ Interface Demography, Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
¹¹ Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA.
¹² Barry Commoner Center for Health and the Environment, Queens College, City University of New York, New York, NY 11367, USA.
¹³ Independent Researcher, Boston, MA 02108, USA.
¹⁴ Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 1P8, Canada.
¹⁵ Department of Mental Health, The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MA 21205, USA.
¹⁶ Social Medicine and Global Health, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, 20205 Malmö, Sweden.
¹⁷ Department of Community Health and Social Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY 10025, USA.
¹⁸ Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Stockholm Region, 11365 Stockholm, Sweden.

PMID: 35627402
PMCID: PMC9140645
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19105865

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis is a global event that has created and amplified social inequalities, including an already existing and steadily increasing problem of employment and income insecurity and erosion of workplace rights, affecting workers globally. The aim of this exploratory study was to review employment-related determinants of health and health protection during the pandemic, or more specifically, to examine several links between non-standard employment, unemployment, economic, health, and safety outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Canada, the United States, and Chile, based on an online survey conducted from November 2020 to June 2021. The study focused on both non-standard workers and unemployed workers and examined worker outcomes in the context of current type and duration of employment arrangements, as well as employment transitions triggered by the COVID-19 crisis. The results suggest that COVID-19-related changes in non-standard worker employment arrangements, or unemployment, are related to changes in work hours, income, and benefits, as well as the self-reported prevalence of suffering from severe to extreme anxiety or depression. The results also suggest a link between worker type, duration of employment arrangements, or unemployment, and the ability to cover regular expenses during the pandemic. Additionally, the findings indicate that the type and duration of employment arrangements are related to the provision of personal protective equipment or other COVID-19 protection measures. This study provides additional evidence that workers in non-standard employment and the unemployed have experienced numerous and complex adverse effects of the pandemic and require additional protection through tailored pandemic responses and recovery strategies.

Keywords: atypical employment; health equity; income and employment insecurities; lack of workplace rights; mental health; occupational health and safety; pandemic responses and recovery strategies; poverty; social inequalities; transitions towards non-standard employment and unemployment; worker health and well-being.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funder had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Proportion of respondents indicating changes in work hours, work income, and benefits compared to the job held or situation before the COVID-19 crisis, by country and by employment transition. (a) Changes in work hours, (b) Changes in work income, and (c) Changes in benefits. Notes: N represents the total sample of participants with jointly defined values for the employment transitions and changes in work hours, work income, and benefits questions. More specifically, for figure (c) NG represents the total sample of participants who gained benefits and NL the total sample of participants who lost benefits.

**Figure 2**
Proportion of respondents indicating that they are severely or extremely anxious or depressed, by country and by employment transition. Notes: For each country, N represents the total sample of participants with jointly defined values for the employment transitions and the self-declared anxiety and depression questions.

**Figure 3**
Pooled logistic regression analysis of predictors of severe or extreme anxiety or depression. Notes: SE = standard employment; NSE = non-standard employment arrangement. Reference category = same NSE. Model adjusted for age, gender, and education.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. ILO . COVID-19: Social Protection Systems Failing Vulnerable Groups. International Labour Office; Geneva, Switzerland: 2020.
1. ILO . ILO Monitor: COVID-19 and the World of Work. International Labour Office; Geneva, Switzerland: 2021.
1. ILO . World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2022. International Labour Office; Geneva, Switzerland: 2022.
1. Quinlan M., Mayhew C., Bohle P. The global expansion of precarious employment, work disorganization, and consequences for occupational health: A review of recent research. Int. J. Health Serv. 2001;31:335–414. doi: 10.2190/607H-TTV0-QCN6-YLT4. - DOI - PubMed
1. UN . A UN Framework for the Immediate Socio-Economic Response to COVID-19. United Nations; Geneva, Switzerland: 2020.

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Non-Standard Employment and Unemployment during the COVID-19 Crisis: Economic and Health Findings from a Six-Country Survey Study

Affiliations

Non-Standard Employment and Unemployment during the COVID-19 Crisis: Economic and Health Findings from a Six-Country Survey Study

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical