Of all the sectors in society, it is the so-called casual workers, or those with temporary job status, who feel so insecure and unstable in life, given the kind of jobs with attributes that are rather worrisome. What are these job attributes that cause these concerned workers to feel insecure?
Foremost among these attributes is the absence of tenure security. Any job with no assurance of continuity, and permanence, could cause that feeling of insecurity. These are jobs with no permanent items attached to them. They are just temporarily given to the contractual workers. Once the contract expires, a worker has to go, no matter how good he is at doing the job. Workers here are otherwise described as casual and temporary. Unless their contracts are renewed, they will never have those jobs again.
Another job attribute that makes workers feel unstable is the meager pay that the job offers. Indeed, some jobs pay too little, not compensating the workers for the efforts, skills, and time they spend on it. Far from being enough, the pay deprives the workers of security, satisfaction, peace of mind, and the right to be properly compensated. Such a job steals the workers’ joy, making them unstable financially.
Jobs that are seasonal also cause insecurity to workers. Just like farming-related jobs. There are times when workers would be so busy, and times when they would have almost nothing to do, hence unpaid. Working in a small construction company could be another example. Projects are not always available, and the workers will only be made to work when there’s a project to finish, but when there is none, the employees have no work at all. This, for sure, causes a feeling of insecurity.
When the company offering certain jobs is small and not that established or is having a power struggle within due to ownership disputes, with legal battles within, then all the more that the workers would feel insecure, knowing that any time, the company might close shop and send them home empty-handed. In such a company, there is no assurance that the next day, week, or month, a worker will still have a job to support his family. Such a very unstable workplace could only cause its workers to feel insecure.
If a job or jobs are reserved only for the “chosen ones” and not given based on worker performance, then such jobs could likewise cause insecurity. This happens when the appointing authority exercises favoritism among workers. Or when some workers tend to bribe the person with “niceties”, extreme “generosity”, or “indecent proposals” at times. In short, when acceptance and promotion are based on certain favors and not on performance, then the job becomes unstable for the deprived ones.
So far these, among others, are the common job attributes that cause insecurity to workers. These are frustrating attributes, for sure, and are demoralizing workers instead. So long as they exist, workers will never feel secure with their jobs.
