Abstract
The term “casual work” is not well defined in the literature and can include a diversity of types of employment. In this paper, we first present an introduction and definition of concepts related to job security and economic insecurity. Second, a view on the main labour market transformations, their causes and impacts, with more accent on self-employment. We will then reflect on policy issues and on how social policies can impact on job security, and this is where we will introduce the new Québec parental leave regime, which is a welcome effort to alleviate insecurity and economic difficulty for self-employed parents, taking gender into account. We will conclude by considerations on the importance of economic security and the policies which could support this, in a context where many stress the fact that “boundaryless” or “nomadic” careers are the way of the future and that workers should simply adapt to this new context.
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Notes
This sample was not aimed at being representative since we wanted to identify “new” categories of self-employed to complete the more traditional picture which is well-known. We therefore contacted many professional orders (translators, human resource counsellors, etc.), an association of the self-employed, a magazine on self-employment and a business newspaper and contacted individuals who either came forward as self-employed or who were part of a list provided by an association or professional order.
We are presently doing research on fathers’ and mothers’ participation in the parental leave program.
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Tremblay, DG. From Casual Work to Economic Security; The Paradoxical Case of Self-Employment. Soc Indic Res 88, 115–130 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-007-9205-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-007-9205-4