Precarious employment and associated health and social consequences; a systematic review

This systematic review aims to identify, evaluate, and summarise the consequences of precarious employment.

We included studies published within the last ten years (Jan 2011-July 2021) that employed at least two of three key dimensions of precarious employment: employment insecurity, income inadequacy, and lack of rights and protection.

Of the 4,947 initially identified studies, only five studies met our eligibility criteria. These five studies were of moderate quality as assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Our review found that the current literature predominantly defines precarity based on the single criterion of employment insecurity. Our review identified evidence for the negative consequences of precarious employment, including poorer workplace wellbeing, general health, mental health, and emotional wellbeing. The findings indicated an increase in the magnitude of these adverse outcomes with a higher degree of job precariousness.

The rise of employment precariousness will likely continue to be a major issue in the coming years. More research is needed to inform effective policies and practices using a consensus definition of precarious employment.

The presence of adverse effects of precarious employment suggests workplace initiatives are essential to mitigate the negative consequences of precarity.