Research project
PREWORK
- Start date: 1 March 2016
- End date: 31 December 2020
- Principal investigator: Dr Vera Trappmann (黑料社 University Business School) and Professor Juliusz Gardawski (SGH Warsaw School of Economics)
- Co-investigators: Dr Adam Mrozowicki (Institute of Sociology, University of Wroc艂aw) and Jan Czarstasty (SGH Warsaw School of Economics). Researchers: Alexandra Seehaus, Denis Neumann, Magdalena Andrejczuk, Aleksandra Drabina, Mateusz Karolak, Agata Krasowska
Description
The PREWORK ("Young precarious workers in Poland and Germany: a comparative sociological study on working and living conditions, social consciousness and civic engagement") research project seeks to propose new theoretical insights into the extent to which precarious working and living conditions influence the emergent forms of social, class and political consciousness, individual life strategies and collective civic engagement of young workers in Poland and Germany.
Taking as a case example the situation of young precarious workers, the research seeks to advance the relational, historical and interpretive approach to precarity in which the social boundaries of the concept are determined by institutional features of national varieties of capitalism, cultural and political discourses of “normal employment” as well as the practices of social actors.
We are extending the project to study young precarious workers in the UK and Greece, in collaboration with colleagues from CERIC (Ioulia Bessa and Charles Umney), as well as Chris McLachlan (Cranfield) and Laura Cartwright (LSSI).
For more information, .
The project is funded by the German Science Foundation and National Science Centre. Funding scheme: Beethoven | Project: TR1378/1-1; UMO-2014/15/G/HS4/04476.
Key findings
- Precarity during young adulthood is experienced very different from precarity in other age groups.
- Precarity becomes the new normal for young people and hence young people do not show much resistance against precarious forms of employment.
- Precarity impairs pursuing a professional career.
- Coping with precarity is individualised; the insecure labour market conditions are not perceived as a structural problem but as an individual challenge that needs to be answered by individual investments. If precarity persists it is perceived as an individual failure.
- This individualisation leads to a lack of protest and a lack of potential rising class consciousness.
- Employment precarity is closely linked to other vulnerabilities. We have developed first analysis of the relationship between mental health, emotions, affective resources and precarity.
Publications and outputs
2020
Mrozowicki, A. and Trappmann, V. orcid.org/0000-0002-7945-4536 (Accepted: 2020) Precarity as a Biographical Problem? Young Workers Living with Precarity in Germany and Poland. Work, Employment and Society. Online First, August 2020
Trappmann, V., Seehaus, A., Mrozowicki, A., Krasowska, A. (Accepted: 2020) The Moral Boundary Drawing of Class: Social Inequality and Younger Precarious Workers in Poland and Germany. Sociology (In Press)
Mrozowicki, A./Czarzasty, J. (Hrsg.) (2020) Oswajanie niepewno艣ci. Studia spo艂eczno-ekonomiczne nad m艂odymi pracownikami sprekaryzowanym (Tame uncertainty. Socio-economic studies on young workers with a high degree of precariousness.) Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar (420 s./pp.), chapters by: Magdalena Andrejczuk, Przemys艂aw B艂aszkiewicz, Jacek Burski, Jan Czarzasty, Aleksandra Drabina-Ró偶ewicz, Juliusz Gardawski, Mateusz Karolak, Agata Krasowska, Jule Marie-Lorenzen, Adam Mrozowicki, Denis Neumann, Alexandra Seehaus, Vera Trappmann)
2019
Mrozowicki A./Trappmann V./Seehaus A./Kajta J. (2019) Who is a right-wing supporter? On the biographical experiences of young right-wing voters in Poland and Germany. Qualitative Sociology Review. 15(4), p. 212-235.
2018
In, Against and Beyond Precarity: Work in Insecure Times. WES Special issue. Work, Employment and Society, 32 (3). pp. 447-457. ISSN 0950-0170 Edited by Alberti, G., Bessa, I., Hardy, K., Umney, C., Trappmann, V.
Trappmann V./Lorenzen J-M./Neumann D./Seehaus A. (2018) Rechtspopulismus und das junge Prekariat: potentielle AfD WählerInnen? (Right-wing populism and the young precariat: potential AfD voters?) In: Becker K.; Reif-Spirek P. (eds.) Arbeiterbewegung von rechts? Ungleichheit, Verteilungskämpfe, populistische Revolte. (Labour Movement from the Right? Inequality, distribution struggles, populist revolt). Campus, p. 138-156.
Trappmann V., Seehaus A. (2018) Die Mitte als klassenloser Ort? Wie Jugendliche moralisieren und Prekarisierung rechtfertigen (The middle as a classless place? How young people moralise and justify precarisation). In: Joller S; Stanisavljevic M (eds.) Moralische Kollektive. Jumper.
Czarzasty J./Trappmann, V./ Mrozowicki A./Andrejczuk, M. (2018) Prekaryjno艣膰 po polsku i niemiecku: 艣wiadomo艣膰 ekonomiczna i strategie ludzi m艂odych (economic awareness and strategies of young people) (ed.) 艢wiat (bez) pracy: from Fordism to the fourth industrial revolution, Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawnicza SGH, p. 395-418.
Czarzasty, J./Gardawski, J./Mrozowicki, A./Trappmann, V. (2018) Young Precarious Workers in Poland and Germany, Global Dialogue 8(3): 45-46.
Brochure
Young Precarious Workers in Poland and Germany. Insights into life strategies, political consciousness and activism.
Media
“” Gazeta Wyborcza, 10/02/2020
. Interia Fakty. 18/7/2020
Blogs
Trappmann, V: “”. The Conversation. 21/9/2017
Trappmann V. “The voice, loyalty and exit of precarious workers in Germany”. 黑料社 University Business School - Research & Innovation Blog
Seehaus, A. . CERIC Blog.
Podcast
Precarity in Poland and Germany. (Coming soon)