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Social isolation, third places, and precarious employment circumstances: A scoping review

Project Description:

Rising rates of social isolation are an urgent concern given detrimental impacts on social cohesion and individual and collective well-being. Given that particular social groups are at heightened risk for social isolation, it is vital to move beyond individualized understandings of isolation and attend to social, political, and spatial forces producing social isolation and exclusion. Persons in precarious employment circumstances, a term used to refer to a range of unstable, insecure, and unpredictable employment conditions, face numerous intersecting barriers to social participation and inclusion. ‘Third places’, broadly defined as places essential for social connectedness that exist outside the first place of home and the second place of work, have been proposed as important spaces for countering social isolation within contemporary societies. However, given that the original conceptualization of third places was based upon the lives of middle-class males engaged in stable forms of work, there have been calls to diversify understandings of the types, roles, and characteristics of third places, particularly given the rise of precarious work and other forms of social precarity.

This scoping review focused on the following question: what is known about the types and characteristics of third places that help maintain social connectedness and address social isolation for adults experiencing precarious employment? Interdisciplinary peer-reviewed articles published between 2012 and 2022 addressing this question were reviewed (N=24). Results highlight several characteristics of third places created and/or engaged in by precarious workers and extended understanding of the social outcomes linked to third places in the lives of precarious workers. Across studies, four types of social outcomes were highlighted: achieving a sense of belonging to a collective; experiencing a temporary refuge or respite from precarious conditions; asserting presence and visibility to counter social invisibility and marginalization; and exchanging resources and care.

In addition to identifying to research gaps, the review’s findings highlight the importance of re-thinking how third places and their social benefits are defined and studied, given the dynamic structure, foci, and effects of third places highlighted. It is important that policy and program efforts addressing third places for precarious workers account for the diverse social needs associated with precarity as well as collective activities/occupations that bring people together. Moving forward, policy development and implementation addressing social, financial, and occupational needs and rights of persons navigating precarity must be done collaboratively and with a transformative intent to combat existing forms of social exclusion and pervasive precarious conditions.

Publications:

Aldrich, R., Laliberte Rudman, D., Fernandes, K., Nguyen, G., & Larkin, S. (2023). (Re)making ‘Third Places’ in precarious times: Conceptual, empirical, and practical opportunities for occupational science. Journal of Occupational Science, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2023.2234382 

Other Related Resources:

Laliberte Rudman, D. & Aldrich, R. (2023). Evidence brief – Social isolation, third places and precarious employment circumstances: A scoping review. To be posted on SSHRC website.  https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/society-societe/community-communite/ifca-iac/evidence_briefs-donnees_probantes/index-eng.aspx

Laliberte Rudman, D., Aldrich, R., Fernades, K., Akrofi, J., Larkin, J., Nguyen, G. & Elias-Moran, R. (2022, November). Final report to SSHRC - Social isolation, third places, and precarious employment circumstances: A scoping review. Occupational Therapy Publications. 54. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/otpub/54