Introduction
Precarity, defined as persistent instability and insecurity in employment, is a phenomenon that transcends geographical and economic boundaries. While often associated with the gig economy and informal labour sectors, precarity exists even within formal employment structures in high-income countries. The assumption that Western labour markets are inherently superior—offering security, stability, and fairness—has been increasingly challenged by scholarship that highlights the hidden vulnerabilities in these systems. This literature review explores precarity as a universal experience, drawing on ethnographic studies and theoretical critiques to demonstrate how neoliberal labour structures across the globe have normalised precarious work, often under the guise of flexibility and entrepreneurship.
Precarity in Western and Non-Western Contexts
Western Economies and the Myth of Secure Labour
The notion that Western economies provide stable, fair labour conditions is increasingly being challenged. Wood et al. (2019) argue that while digital platforms offer flexibility, they commodify labour and create precarious workforces even in high-income countries. Yin (2024) extends this analysis by examining transnational migrant workers in Canada’s gig economy, revealing a continuum of exploitation in so-called "developed" nations. Similarly, Zhou (2024) finds that migration exacerbates precarity in China’s gig economy, mirroring trends in Western labour markets where migrant workers face systemic vulnerabilities.
The commodification of labour in the gig economy has led to a workforce that lacks institutional protections, making precarity a defining feature of contemporary employment structures. Casilli (2017) critiques Western digital labour markets, arguing that they operate largely outside traditional labour protections, creating conditions that parallel informal economies in non-Western nations. High-profile companies like Uber and Amazon Mechanical Turk may employ a fraction of workers, yet the number of people engaged in digital labour is far greater, demonstrating how precarity has infiltrated the mainstream workforce.
Communal Networks as a Response to Precarity
Hammer & Ness (2021) highlight how informal communal and familial networks in non-Western societies provide crucial safety nets, often more effective than formal Western social protection systems. Case studies from Tanzania’s street trade (Steiler), India’s home-based enterprises (Tripathi & Mishra), and South Africa’s retail industry (Kenny) reveal how workers navigate precarious employment through collective support. In contrast, Spyridakis (2016) presents an ethnographic account of unemployment and precarity in Greece, demonstrating how workers in traditionally "stable" European economies are similarly forced to develop coping mechanisms amidst institutional failures.
The Normalisation of Precarity
Neoliberal Ideologies and the Rhetoric of Choice
Western neoliberal ideologies have reframed precarious work as a desirable feature rather than a flaw. Van Doorn (2017) argues that platform labour rebrands precarity as “flexibility” and “entrepreneurship,” making workers complicit in their own exploitation. This contrasts with non-Western contexts, where explicit precarisation often leads to resistance, as seen in labour movements against exploitative practices in companies like Foxconn in China.
Muthiah (2024) critiques international labour law for sustaining rather than mitigating precarious work. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) frames precarious work as an anomaly, contrasting it with the norm of stable, full-time employment. However, this dichotomy obscures precarity’s systemic nature within global capitalism. Furthermore, gendered and racialised dimensions exacerbate vulnerabilities, with women, particularly migrant workers and those in the informal economy, disproportionately affected by precarity.
The Psychological and Social Impact of Precarity
Beyond Material Insecurity: The Emotional Toll of Precarity
While discussions of precarious work often focus on material insecurities, its psychological toll is equally significant. Spyridakis (2016) illustrates how precarity erodes not only job stability but also workers’ identities and social relationships. Florisson (2024) provides data on job insecurity in the UK, where 6.8 million people (21.4%) were in severely insecure work in 2023. Economic instability, high living costs, and systemic gender inequalities in the labour market parallel conditions in less economically developed regions. The UK’s prevalence of zero-hour contracts and solo self-employment challenges the perception that Western employment structures are fundamentally protective.
Economic Instability and Precarity in Developed Nations
Economic instability has become a significant factor exacerbating precarious working conditions in developed nations, challenging the widely held belief that these conditions are inherently better than those in less economically developed regions. Haile (2023) highlights that precarious employment is likely to become more prevalent as organizations grapple with the economic repercussions of shocks such as Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. This trend is further complicated by a decline in worker protections across Western countries, which contradicts assumptions about the fairness of their labor environments. The positive influence of trade unions on working conditions has been largely diminished, resulting in a crisis of worker health characterized by low levels of mental and physical well-being among the workforce.
The contemporary understanding of precarity is deeply influenced by Western socio-economic frameworks, raising critical questions about its universal applicability. Irvine (2022) argues that precarious employment exists even within developed economies, asserting that it is not solely a characteristic of informal work in the Global South. Precarity should be viewed as a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing employment insecurity, income inadequacy, and a lack of rights and social protection. The negative mental health implications of precarious employment are significant; insecure work often constrains access to essential benefits such as time structure, social contacts, and status, which are vital for psychological well-being.
The structural exclusion of migrant workers in Western countries further complicates the narrative of superior labor conditions. Migrants frequently occupy precarious, low-paid, and insecure jobs, reflecting systemic inequities similar to those found in non-Western contexts. For instance, domestic helpers in Hong Kong, often coming from low-income countries like the Philippines and Indonesia, face significant legal and social disadvantages compared to local workers. Despite Hong Kong's high level of development, these workers are often bound to their employers, limiting their ability to change jobs and exacerbating their precarious conditions. Many lack access to basic labor protections, such as paid leave and overtime pay, which are typically available to local workers in Western contexts. This highlights systemic inequalities within supposedly developed economies, as domestic helpers often earn far less than local workers, even amidst high living costs.
Resistance Movements Across Contexts
Ethnographies and research on resistance movements in both Western and non-Western countries reveal that precarious workers from both regions actively challenge their conditions, undermining the narrative of Western superiority in labor practices. These movements highlight the common struggles faced by workers globally, suggesting that the issues of precarity and exploitation are not confined to any single context but are part of a broader, interconnected struggle against capitalist labor systems. By examining these resistance efforts, we can gain valuable insights into the dynamics of worker agency and solidarity, regardless of geographical boundaries.
In "The Fight Against Platform Capitalism," Jamie Woodcock (2021) presents an ethnographic study of Deliveroo workers in London, highlighting their collective organizing efforts amidst systemic barriers that reflect resistance movements seen in Global South labor contexts. Despite operating in a supposedly robust Western economy, Deliveroo workers face significant challenges in their fight for fair pay and improved working conditions. The research underscores the resilience and resistance of gig economy workers, noting that precarity is a global phenomenon epitomized by platforms like Deliveroo, which exemplify instability in Western labor markets. These workers grapple with unstable incomes, a lack of employment benefits, and insufficient legal protections, challenging the notion that Western labor conditions are inherently superior.
Woodcock critiques the algorithmic control prevalent in gig platforms, which manage workers through opaque algorithms that assign jobs and determine pay, thereby removing agency and echoing exploitative practices often associated with low-regulation labor markets in the Global South. This portrayal undermines the perception of Western workplaces as fair, revealing that algorithmic control mirrors the exploitation found in sweatshops and informal economies worldwide. Additionally, the rhetoric of "flexibility" used by gig platforms obscures the exploitative nature of the work, as workers bear the risks of market volatility and lack of social protections. The language surrounding these jobs normalizes precarity, framing exploitation as freedom and challenging the assumption of fairness in Western labor systems.
Through interviews and participant observation, Woodcock reveals the lived experiences of Deliveroo riders, many of whom are migrants facing systemic racism and exploitation. The individualized nature of platform labor often leads to a lack of solidarity, drawing parallels to the vulnerabilities experienced by workers in the Global South. This raises important questions about the assumption that labor systems in the West are universally better. The riders' organization of strikes and protests demonstrates their resistance to precarity and their demands for better conditions, often without institutional support. This necessity for grassroots organizing highlights the systemic deficiencies within the labor system of developed Western countries.
Moreover, Woodcock points out the institutional gaps and lack of protections that gig workers face, as they are excluded from basic rights such as minimum wage guarantees, sick leave, and union representation, despite the presence of labor institutions in the UK. This exclusionary framework exposes significant gaps in Western labor systems, illustrating that institutional strength does not guarantee universal fairness for all workers.
Conclusion
Precarity is not confined to the Global South but is a global issue affecting workers across economic divides. The assumption that Western labour markets are inherently superior ignores the widespread commodification of labour, the failure of institutional protections, and the psychological impact of precarious employment. As neoliberal ideologies normalise precarity under the guise of flexibility and entrepreneurship, it is crucial to rethink labour protections and challenge dominant narratives that falsely position Western economies as paragons of security and fairness.
References
Casilli, A. 2017. Digital labor studies go global: toward a theory of value creation, appropriation, and distribution. International Journal of Communication 11, 3939-3954.
Florisson, R. 2024. The UK insecure work index 2024. Lancaster: Work Foundation, Lancaster University.
Haile, G.A. 2023. ‘Precarious employment and workplace health outcomes in Britain’, Social Science & Medicine, 320, p. 115694. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115694.
Hammer, N. & Ness, I. 2021. Introduction: labour precarity and collective struggle. Journal of Labor and Society 24, 1-11.
Irvine, A. and Rose, N. 2022. ‘How does precarious employment affect mental health? A scoping review and thematic synthesis of qualitative evidence from western economies’, Work, Employment and Society, 38(2), pp. 418–441. doi:10.1177/09500170221128698.
Muthiah, S. 2024. Rethinking precarity: international labour law and the global governance of insecurity. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Spyridakis, M. 2016. The liminal worker: an ethnography of unemployment in Greece. London: Routledge.
Van Doorn, N. 2017. Platform labor: on the gendered and racialized exploitation of low-income service work in the ‘on-demand’ economy. Information, Communication & Society 20, 898-914.
Wood, A.J., Lehdonvirta, V. & Graham, M. 2019. Good gig, bad gig: autonomy and algorithmic control in the global gig economy. Sociology 53, 931-950.
Woodcock, J. (2021) The Fight Against Platform Capitalism: An Inquiry into the Global Struggles of the Gig Economy. London: University of Westminster Press. Available at: https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/48800/the-fight-against-platform-capitalism.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Yin, X. 2024. Precarious transnationalism: formal subsumption and the gig economy in Canada. Critique 52, 1-22.
Zhou, L. 2024. Migration, gig economies, and precarity in China. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 56, 1-19.
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