Labour market precarity and political alienation
Prekaryjność na rynku pracy a alienacja polityczna

Summary/Abstract: The object of this article is to analyse the relationship between labourmarket precarity and political attitudes in Poland. I address the followingresearch question: how do people in economically insecure employmentdiffer from other workers in terms of electoral participation, self-reportedinterest in politics, and adherence to democratic principles? My analyses arebased on quantitative data from the sixth wave of the Polish Panel Survey(POLPAN), conducted in 2013 on a nationally representative sample of adultsaged 21 and above. The study found strong associations between indicatorsof labour market precarity observed at the time of the POLPAN survey andthe dependent variables. However, most of these relationships disappear inregression models controlling for the other socio-demographic characteristicsof the respondents. It appears that the lack of interest in politics and higherscepticism towards democracy among members of the precariat may not bedue to labour market insecurity as such, but rather determined by such factorsas younger age, a lower level of education, and lower household income.

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