Uncertain Future, Uncertain Past? Exploring Precarious Work Lives and their Association with Health and Career Advancement in Sweden over Six Decades

Research problem and specific questionsThis project aims to shed light on the lifetime experiences of precarious work in Sweden, focusing on atypical labor contracts, employment instability, and unemployment from the 1960s to the early 2020s.

It seeks to distinguish experiences of long-term trends from short-term fluctuations, in both an individual and a historical perspective.

Main research questions are: how do varying degrees of career precariousness affect long-term individual well-being in terms of income and health issues, and how have precarious work lives evolved from the 1960s to now, and how have they differed among groups defined by education, gender, immigrant status, and urbanity?Data and methodThe uniqueness of this project lies to a large extent in its data source, the Swedish Level-of-Living survey (LNU), which offers long-term coverage, comprehensive work/health-related questions, panel structure, and also links to annual register data.

The project will create a dataset with multiple indicators of precarious work lives featuring measures not previously analyzed during this long time-frame.Additionally, we will complement the analyses with register data on the full population. In particular, for research questions related to regional divides, we will leverage the larger analytical sample.

We will also benefit from being able to compare results for different samples, partly using the same or similar measures.Societal relevance and utilizationIn terms of societal relevance, the project addresses key issues in Forte´s strategic research agenda, focusing on future job and employment sector expansions and the impacts on different societal groups.

This knowledge is crucial for shaping policies that improve work conditions and address precarious employment.

It is of vital importance to gain deeper knowledge on, first, the individual long-term consequences of precariousness in the labor market and, second, if there are long terms trends of deteriorating conditions in the labor market or if there are rather cyclical ups and downs.

Similarly, it is of vital interest to learn more about precarious work lives across social groups and geographical areas.Plan for project realizationThe project will span across three years (July 2024 – June 2027) and involve a team of five senior and junior researchers, along with two international collaborators.

It consists of four main tasks: data management, analysis, study preparations, and dissemination activities.