Precarization of employment relationships in remote–working conditions during COVID-quarantine

The large-scale social consequences of the global COVID epidemic demanded a multilateral analysis of its impact on the global processes of social development of the country. Particularly noticeable changes are observed in the sphere of work and labor relations. More than a year’s self-isolation and quarantine conditions necessitated the introduction of a remote work mode, accelerated the pace of mastering digital technologies in almost all areas of employment, and determined new requirements for the specialized qualities and competencies of workers. The massive transition to remote work turned out to be a professional challenge for many workers with different social status and required the ability to get involved in the digital economy in a dynamically short time frame. Employees who were unable to adapt to new conditions lost their jobs. Despite the positive aspects of working remotely, a number of negative aspects have been identified that seriously affected everyday life in a pandemic reality. Among them the most tangible are: the growing uncertainty and opacity of the labor and wages legal forms, individualization of workers, which deepen the process of labor relations’ precarization. The conclusions were made in accordance with the results of the analysis of entrepreneurs’ and public sector employees’ pilot interviews under conditions of quarantine restrictions, the analysis of materials from official statistics, monitoring data from analytical centers of Russian Public Opinion Research Center, Public Opinion Foundation, National Agency for Financial Studies and others.