COV-WORK: Socio-economic consciousness, work experiences and coping strategies of Poles in the context of the post-pandemic crisis

The central research question is formulated as follows: To what extent has the socio-economic crisis caused by the pandemic been reflected in changes in work organisation, collective labour relations and discourse about work as well as the socio-economic consciousness of working Poles and their individual and collective life strategies? The project addresses this question by exploring social consequences of the pandemic for: 1) socio-economic consciousness of Poles in post-pandemic situation, including their attitudes towards capitalism, state intervention, public services, social support and collective action in labour relations; 2) biographical work-related experiences of Poles, including selected aspects of job quality / quality of work and workers' coping strategies in the sectors particularly affected by pandemic (health care and social care, education, logistics); 3) the old and new conflicts in collective labour relations and mechanisms of their alleviation and the ways of framing them by social partners (trade unions, employer organisations, public administration) and in the publics discourse in both traditional media and Internet-based outlets. As a result of all these activities the COV-WORK project is expected to broaden our understanding of the post-pandemic labour market and the opportunities and threats for the contemporary world of labour. We will find out to what extent the pandemic acts as an accelerator of the trends present already in the prepandemic period, in particular employment precarisation , automation and digitalisation of work (including increase in remote work), erosion of social dialogue and expansion of discourses individualising work experience. We also expect that the experience of the pandemic will strengthen the national pro-labour and egalitarian component in the social and economic consciousness of working Poles. It could lead, on the one hand, to the emergence of the hotbeds of protest and mobilisation in particular in the 'essential work' sectors, but, on the other hand, may foster 'normalisation' of precariousness and acceptance for institutionalisation of 'anti-crisis' solutions conducive to long-term weakening of the world of work. What directions those processes will take and whether they are going to look the same in various sectors, we will only find out at the end of the project.