Biographical Work as a Mechanism of Dealing with Precarity and Precariousness

Jacek Burski; Adam Mrozowicki; Aleksandra Drabina-Różewicz; Agata Krasowska

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.18.2.05

Authors

Jacek Burski University of Wrocław, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9987-2420
Adam Mrozowicki University of Wrocław, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5809-5036
Aleksandra Drabina-Różewicz University of Wrocław, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0939-6470
Agata Krasowska University of Wrocław, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6675-445X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.18.2.05

Keywords:

Precarious Work, Biographical Work, Precariousness, Precarity, Young Workers

Abstract

The article aims to explore the relationship between biographical work and the strategies of managing precarity (low-paid and unstable employment) and precariousness (insecurity and instability of life conditions in general) in Poland’s new capitalism. Poland witnessed the rise of precarity during the entire capitalist transformation after 1989, while the expansion of precarious, temporary, and non-standard employment accelerated in the first two decades of the 21st century. The main theoretical framework of the article is based on concepts deriving from biographical sociology and was elaborated during a joint workshop with German biographical researcher, Fritz Schütze, within the PREWORK project. The case of a young female shop assistant, Helena, with a difficult family and work background was selected from a larger sample of 63 biographical narrative interviews with precarious young workers in Poland. Based on the case study and the broader context of the research project, it is argued that biographical work may have the potential for questioning and challenging precarity; yet, without necessary biographical and social resources, such a process is hard to be completed. As a result, the paper questions the macrosocial vision of “precariat” as the “class in-the-making” and instead offers a detailed account of the microsocial ways of dealing with precarity by a representative of the most disadvantaged group of precarious young workers.

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Author Biographies

Jacek Burski, University of Wrocław, Poland

Jacek Burski is a sociologist and an assistant professor at the Institute of Sociology of the University of Wrocław. He has a post-doc in the NCN COV-WORK project on the consequences of the socio-economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. His academic interests cover the sociology of work, the sociology of biography, precarity, and social change.
Adam Mrozowicki, University of Wrocław, Poland

Adam Mrozowicki is a sociologist and an associate professor at the Institute of Sociology, University of Wrocław, Poland. The leader of the UWr team in the NCN-DFG PREWORK project on precarious young workers in Poland and Germany and the leader of the NCN COV-WORK project on the consequences of the socio-economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. His academic interests lie in the sociology of work, economic sociology, comparative employment relations, precarity, critical social realism, and biographical methods.
Aleksandra Drabina-Różewicz, University of Wrocław, Poland

Aleksandra Drabina-Różewicz has a Ph.D. in social sciences in the field of sociology. The author of publications and the editor of monographs on masculinity, femininity, work, and pop culture. A researcher in national and international projects: NCN PREWORK “Young Precarious Workers in Poland and Germany: A Comparative Sociological Study on Working and Living Conditions, Social Consciousness, and Civic Engagement” (2016-2020); NCN “Social Structure, Networks, and Consumption Tastes and Practices” (2018-2021); NCN COV-WORK “Socio-Economic Consciousness, Work Experiences, and Coping Strategies of Poles in the Context of the Post-Pandemic Crisis” (2021-2025). Her research interests focus on qualitative research (biographical method, visual analysis of pop culture).
Agata Krasowska, University of Wrocław, Poland

Agata Krasowska has a Ph.D. in sociology and is an assistant professor at the Department of Sociology of Work and Economy at the Institute of Sociology of the University of Wrocław. Her main research interests lie in the sociology of change, the sociology of knowledge and culture, and the sociology of work. She examines the issues of precariousness, work experience, and coping strategies of employees in a (post)pandemic crisis. She also deals with the methodology of qualitative research, with particular emphasis on the biographical method and autoethnography. She is currently working on a grant and a monograph on experiencing mental crises by precarious workers.

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