No progress: breaking the cycle of long-term insecure work
Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2025 3:22 am
Rebecca FlorissonRebecca Florisson, Principal Analyst at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, discusses the issue of long-term insecure work.
For millions of workers in the UK, employment in the 21st century is characterised by insecurity. Previous Work Foundation research found that one in five workers in the UK (6.8m) are in india rcs data severely insecure work, characterised by low pay, unpredictable hours, and a lack of access to rights and protections. Our new study finds that for too many workers, this is not a short-term issue, but something that workers can be trapped in for many years, with often detrimental effects. This entrenched problem not only hampers economic growth but also has profound effects on workers’ well-being, health, and future opportunities.
Our new study examines the likelihood of progressing out of insecure work using the Work Foundation’s measure of job insecurity which was previously described in more detail on the UK Data service blog. We apply this measure to the longitudinal Understanding Society dataset from 2017/18 to 2020/21, allowing us to track insecure workers across a four-year period.
For millions of workers in the UK, employment in the 21st century is characterised by insecurity. Previous Work Foundation research found that one in five workers in the UK (6.8m) are in india rcs data severely insecure work, characterised by low pay, unpredictable hours, and a lack of access to rights and protections. Our new study finds that for too many workers, this is not a short-term issue, but something that workers can be trapped in for many years, with often detrimental effects. This entrenched problem not only hampers economic growth but also has profound effects on workers’ well-being, health, and future opportunities.
Our new study examines the likelihood of progressing out of insecure work using the Work Foundation’s measure of job insecurity which was previously described in more detail on the UK Data service blog. We apply this measure to the longitudinal Understanding Society dataset from 2017/18 to 2020/21, allowing us to track insecure workers across a four-year period.