Precarious Employment in Utah

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Broadly, precarious employment is defined as “uncertain, unstable and insecure work in which workers, as opposed to businesses or the government, bear the risks associated with work and receive limited social benefits and statutory protections."1 The two halves of this definition – the work and the risk – are worth noting. First, "uncertain, unstable and insecure” highlights how this kind of work doesn’t have regular hours or wages that workers can count on from week to week or even from day to day. Secondly, the idea that ‘workers… bear the risks’ describes how the entity paying workers does not mitigate the risks that come with this work, meaning that the worker is responsible for staying safe and healthy. 

All kinds of temporary employment are precarious: this includes agency work, contract work, seasonal work, and casual employment.2 Agency work depends on a third party connecting the employer and employee, usually for a short time. Contract work has an end date. Seasonal work is also temporary, but also depends on a specific time of year, such as harvests or holidays. Finally, casual employment lacks a set schedule, and workers may just be ‘on call’ until needed. 

A related example is gig work, which is informal and on-demand work often mediated by a third party like an app (think DoorDash, Uber, Lyft, Instacart, Upwork, or Poplin). Gig workers are vulnerable to long hours, low wages, and shifting demand for the goods or services they provide.3 Gig work also comes without benefits or protections, and oftentimes, the contractor takes an overly large share of the worker’s earnings in exchange for their use of the proprietary app.  

Precarious employment is associated with poor health – including mental health – because workers are paid less and experience extra stresses and hazards.4 Other factors include its temporary nature, the disempowerment workers feel, and the vulnerability they face.5 Precarious employment can also affect some populations more than others, such as workers who are already marginalized by race, gender, immigration status, or educational attainment levels and thus cannot find stable, long-term employment.6  The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted these disparities even more.7 While precarious employment has long been a topic of study internationally, little research focuses on improving the well-being of precarious workers in the U.S.8

This Topic In Utah 

Precarious employment in Utah is a key topic because several industries in this state depend on contract work and seasonal work. For example, the tourism industry and sites like ski lodges are only open for part of the year; meanwhile, agriculture and ranching have different busy seasons. Each of these industries needs workers during specific times, and those workers must find other employment outside these busy times. This is in addition to more widespread seasonal work, such as retail workers during holidays or adjunct teachers during the school year.

Much like the reality on a national scale, there is only a little research on how precarious employment functions in Utah and how its problems can be addressed. For example, research on precarious agricultural employment has shown that Medicaid use is key to ensuring precarious workers receive the care they need.9 Elsewhere, a 2020 report by the Utah Citizens Counsel showed that 60% of the jobs lost in this state during COVID-19 had been held by women, and other precarious labor was dependent mostly on workers of racial minorities.10 These examples show that the topic is important, but also that we have a long way still to go. And in the near future, climate change and environmental shifts will continue to impact the tourist industry and agriculture as well.

 

    1. Bhattacharya, A., & Ray, T. 2022. “Precarious Work, Job Stress, and Health-related Quality of Life.” NIOSH Science Blog, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2022/08/09/precarious-work/ 
    2. Vosko, L.F., Laxer, K., Walsh, D., & Werner, M. and Marion Werner. n.d. “Conceptual Guide to the Forms of Precarious Employment Module.” Comparative Perspectives Database on Precarious Employment, Genderwork.ca. https://www.genderwork.ca/cpd/modules/forms-of-precarious-employment/ 
    3. Panka, A.K., & Jha, M.K. 2024. “Gig workers in precarious life: The trajectory of exploitation, insecurity, and resistance.” The American Journal of Economics and Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12563 
    4. Pulford, A., Thapa, A., Thomson, R. M., Guilding, A., Green, M. J., Leyland, A., Popham, F., & Katikireddi, S. V. 2022. “Does persistent precarious employment affect health outcomes among working age adults? A systematic review and meta-analysis.” Journal of epidemiology and community health, 76(11), 909–917. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2022-219292 
    5. Bhattacharya, A., & Ray, T. 2022. “Precarious Work, Job Stress, and Health-related Quality of Life.” NIOSH Science Blog, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2022/08/09/precarious-work/ 
    6. Cubrich, M., & Tengesdal, J. 2021. “Precarious work during precarious times: Addressing the compounding effects of race, gender, and immigration status.” Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 14(1–2), 133–138. doi:10.1017/iop.2021.42 
    7. Mai, Q. D., Song, L., & Donnelly, R. 2023. “Precarious Employment and Well-Being: Insights from the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Work and occupations, 50(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/07308884221143063
    8. Gunn, V., Kreshpaj, B., Matilla-Santander, N., Vignola, E. F., Wegman, D. H., Hogstedt, C., Ahonen, E. Q., Bodin, T., Orellana, C., Baron, S., Muntaner, C., O'Campo, P., Albin, M., & Håkansta, C. 2022. “Initiatives Addressing Precarious Employment and Its Effects on Workers' Health and Well-Being: A Systematic Review.” International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(4), 2232. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042232  
    9. Hammon, J. 2021. “Accessing Healthcare in the Intermountain West During the Age of Precarious Labor.” Digital Commons, Utah State University. MS thesis. https://doi.org/10.26076/97e6-347b 
    10. Utah Citizens’ Council. 2020. “Standing Up For Utah’s Needs 2020.” UtahCitizensCounsel.org. https://www.utahcitizenscounsel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2020.Final_.2pdf-3.pdf