Dimensions of job precariousness and associations with workers’ health and well-being in Swedish homecare

Abstract

Although international research has shown an increase in precarious work in recent decades, few of these studies have been devoted to paid care work. This article joins feminist research on care work with work–life balance-oriented research on precarious work to study the work situation of Swedish homecare workers. The results show a high prevalence of multidimensional precariousness among the care workers and reveal how several indicators of job precariousness are associated with physical and mental strain, poor work–life balance, and intentions to quit the job, including time pressure, lack of job control and limited possibilities to develop and use skills, as well as to create and keep relations with users.