ABSTRACT
PurposeThis article contributes to the debate on how social policies and labour market regulation have been used to limit the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic by focusing on one specific economic segment of European labour markets: private consumption services, such as trade, tourism, catering and other support services.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis combines mixed methods and a variety of sources. First, we built a set of indicators from the EU-LFS microdata for 2019 and the 2018 Eurostat "Structure of earnings survey” and performed a cluster analysis (k-means) on the dimensions and indicators considered. Second, we elaborated EU-LFS data covering 2019 and 2020 (by quarter) and OECD 2020 data, and finally we traced Covid-related policy reforms for the period March 2020–December 2021 and analysed documents and information collected in different policy repositories.FindingsThe paper shows the relevance and characteristics of private consumption services in different countries, demonstrating that so-called labour market "outsiders” are highly represented in this sector and illustrates the policies adopted to respond to the pandemic in different European countries. The paper asks whether this emergency has been a window of opportunity to redefine regulation in this sector, making it more inclusive. It demonstrates, however, that the common approach in Europe has been dominated by temporary, short-term and one-off measures, which do not represent major changes to the social security schemes that were in place before the pandemic.Originality/valueThis article builds on the literature on labour market dualization, but approaches the concept from a different perspective – one not centred on the nature of employment relations (stable/unstable) but on economic sectors/branches. This article does not, therefore, discuss in general terms what happened to labour market outsiders during the pandemic, but rather focus attention on a specific group of workers who are highly exposed to risks stemming from dualization: those employed in the private consumption services. The economic sector perspective is an integrative way of framing dualization which is still under-researched.
ABSTRACT
. Remote work entered the lives of many workers since the first months of 2020, when the pandemic spread around the world. The use of remote work then gave rise to what has been defined as "a great social experiment". In the situation of general uncertainty that the pandemic has produced, the usual work regulation and negotiation processes in the workplace have been suspended and replaced by quick and one-sided decisions. The article, on the one hand, explores the modes and times with which organizational transformations have been absorbed by organizations and workers;on the other hand, it investigates the reactions of workers to the messages sent by their companies about the urgent reorganization imposed by the spread of pandemic. While government-level measures were often fragmented and difficult to understand, companies have often been providing a "filter to uncertainty", through the reorganization of work and the introduction of rules for health safety. In our opinion this is the key to explain the rapidity of the adaptation observed in the transition and its substantial acceptance by the employees, who tended to give up not only conflict, but even "voice" strategies. The metaphor of war and of the presence of a common enemy, combined with the desire to feel useful, have pushed workers to do everything possible to enhance their contribution, including self-training and voluntary working overtime.