From Precarious Work to Decent Work

Dear Colleagues,

Much of the literature and research on precarious work tends to be ahistorical, focusing solely on the contemporary erosion of employment standards in advanced economies. This approach overlooks the longstanding reality that precarity is, and always has been, endemic in societies where profit is the sole determining factor for employment relations. Moreover, it fails to acknowledge that, for a significant portion of the world’s population, a combination of existential, economic, and political forms of precarity has long been the norm.

While in advanced economies, precarious work is often portrayed as a loss of decent employment standards associated with the golden age of Keynesianism, it is important to recognize the paradox between precarious work and decent work. On the one hand, employment forms the core of society, providing stability and certainty to individuals and societies overall. On the other hand, there is a concerted effort to minimize employment as a cost, leading to increased precarity.

The paradox is evident in “new” digital and app-enabled algorithmic management of employment relations. This is not only the case for the so-called gig-economy, but also in standard employment relations and even everyday life where algorithms are utilised to allocate, monitor, and control work in both old and new industries, ultimately aiming to reduce labour costs.

The purpose of this Special Issue, titled “From Precarious Work to Decent Work,” is to explore and address the paradox between precarious work and decent work inherent in modern capitalism. We seek micro- or macro-sociological research that moves beyond mere descriptions of increased precarity, offering theoretical or empirical insights into how precarious work could be transformed into decent work. Original research papers, reviews, successful case studies, and applications, as well as opinion papers of a high quality and with novel ideas on the possibilities to move “from Precarious Work to Decent Work”, are more than welcome.

Dr. Norbert Ebert
Dr. Hangyoung Lee
Dr. Harry Blatterer
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• precarious work
• decent work
• employment
• sociology of work
• social inequality