Precarious Work, Health, and African-American Men: A Qualitative Study on Perceptions and Experiences

Working Conditions, Worker Rights, and Managerial Domination During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Assessing Their Toll on Precariously Employed Workers and Family Well-Being

Precarious Employment (PE) is characterized by job, income, and benefit insecurities. Studies surrounding PE and well-being have been predominantly quantitative, leaving a gap in rich descriptions of employment experiences. We recruited a sample of 40 adults aged 25-55 who were involved in PE during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic or lost employment due to the pandemic. Semi-structured interviews were administered. Employment and income insecurities were common and had negative impacts on the well-being of participants and their families. Uncertainty about future employment prospects and job and income loss resulted in chronic distress. Other insecurities-access to benefits, violation of worker rights, worker safety-was also reported as impacting well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic deepened insecurities, hardships, and distress among workers with PE conditions. Given the myriad insecurities experienced by those engaged in PE, the focus of precarious work research should also include working conditions, violation of worker rights, and managerial domination.

Multifaceted precarity: pandemic experiences of recent immigrant women in the accommodation and food services sector

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected those who face historical and ongoing marginalization. In centering pandemic experience of recent immigrant women in the accommodation and food services sector in Canada, we examine how their precarious work translated to experiences of work precarity and wellbeing. This paper illuminates how pre-existing and ongoing marginalization are reproduced during a health crisis for those at the intersection of gender, race, migration, and labour inequities. Using semi-structured interviews and systematic analysis using the Work Precarity Framework, we found that the pandemic exacerbated pre-existing socio-economic marginalization and resulted in unique experiences of work precarity. The latter was experienced as precarity of work (unpredictable work hours and job or employment insecurity), precarity from work (inadequate incomes), and precarity at work (physical, psychological, and relational unsafety). Work precarity stood out as a social determinant of health in relation to its outcome of degraded mental health and wellbeing. Recognizing the role of policies in producing, reproducing, and distributing precarity, we recommend policy directions to reduce social inequities in pandemic recovery.

Breaking Down Machismo: Shifting Definitions and Embodiments of Latino Manhood in Middle-Aged Latino Men

There is a notable gap in empirical research regarding how Latino men define and demonstrate machismo, masculinity, and manhood as well as the behavioral consequences associated with these concepts. In our study, we employed a phenomenological thematic approach to analyze 20 semi-structured individual interviews conducted with Latino men residing in South Florida. Our primary objectives were twofold: to examine (1) how do Latino men ages 35 to 60 years describe what it means to be a man and (2) what are the attributes that these men seek to show others that demonstrate their character, cultural values, and gender identity. Findings suggest that Latino men understood expectations associated with machismo and explained that fulfillment of their role as provider, protector, and head of the family was important to their perception of self. While some participants reported a desire to embody characteristics associated with traditional machismo, others strived to demonstrate character, familism, and respect and to provide financial and other instrumental support to their families. Participants reported that their transition into middle age was accompanied by a shift in their perspectives on gender roles, moving away from rigid patriarchal views. Exposure to a more fluid and flexible approach to manhood offered relief from the pressures associated with inflexible manifestations of machismo, which can have negative social, behavioral, and physical health implications. The implications of our research extend to the conceptualization of gender ideals, highlighting the need to incorporate intersectionality, role strain, precarious manhood, and culturally specific notions of manhood as foundational elements in this discourse.

Effects of social assistance on self-rated health

Based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) data in 2018, medical assistance and life assistance have significant negative influences on self-rated health, found via an empirical analysis based on the Oprobit model. Such negative influences are robust based on the substitution of explained variables and propensity score matching. It can be found from a heterogeneity analysis that the negative influences of medical assistance on self-rated health are more significant in urban residents and residents in Central China and East China. Meanwhile, negative influences of life assistance on self-rated health are more significant in urban residents, and residents in Central China, East China, and Northeast China. This study provides empirical evidence to improve the health of residents by using medical assistance and life assistance accurately and offers important policy enlightenments to formulate appropriate social assistance policies.

Uncovering Historical Legacies to Contextualize Health Inequities in Puerto Rican Men: An Expansion of the Minority Stress Model

BACKGROUND

Low/no-income Latino men are disproportionately burdened by chronic disease morbidity and mortality, which is often compounded by persistent exposure to stress. Chronic stress is a key mediating factor in pathways linking macro-level socio-structural forces to micro-level behavioral factors with negative health outcomes. Being that Latinxs continue to be one of the fastest growing populations in the U.S., it is imperative to better understand the roots of stress pathways and explore multi-level interventions.

METHODS

This study presents qualitative findings from in-depth interviews with Puerto Rican men (95%) living in Springfield, Massachusetts. We utilized the Minority Stress Model (MSM) first posited by Ilan Meyers, as a framework to understand stress and stress processes amongst Puerto Rican men. We mapped our data onto Meyers' MSM, which allowed us to find diverging themes and identify areas for expansion.

RESULTS

As expected, participants reported stress rooted in experiences of racism and prejudice, expectations of rejection, English-language acquisition, family relationships, insecure housing, precarious employment, and lack of resources. Nevertheless, the MSM did not account for the historical contexts that, as our findings indicate, are used to filter and understand their experiences with everyday stressors. Participants described and linked histories of colonial violence and movement and migration to their stress and community wellbeing.

DISCUSSION

Findings suggest the need to expand the current MSM and our conceptualization of the stress process to include historical understandings when contextualizing present-day stress and future interventions. We propose an expanded heuristic model that delineates the impact of distinctive historical trajectories that aid in interpreting racial health disparities amongst minoritized populations. Future multi-level interventions should give weight to highlighting history and how this impacts the present, in this case including the culpability of U.S. policy regarding Puerto Rico and the adverse health effects for Puerto Rican men on the mainland.