Precarious work and care responsibilities in the economic crisis

Abstract

Economic transformation after 1989 and the global economic recession that began in 2008 have caused an increase in precarious work in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. As a result of refamilialization, precarious work acquired a specific form for women. We use the Czech Republic as an example in analysing a trend that is obvious throughout the Visegrád countries and apply the capabilities approach to understand the dynamics of precarious work in the lives of women with care responsibilities. Neither the objective characteristics of work nor its subjective assessment alone makes it possible to understand precarious work. The explanation lies in the (temporal) dynamics of the interconnection between the two: insecure jobs accepted by women with care responsibilities as a temporary strategy may turn into a trap excluding them from a stable job.