Dirty work on the COVID-19 frontlines: Exacerbating the situation of marginalized groups in marginalized professions

Debus, Maike E., Unger, Dana ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2628-8914 and Probst, Tahira M. (2021) Dirty work on the COVID-19 frontlines: Exacerbating the situation of marginalized groups in marginalized professions. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 14 (1-2). pp. 144-148. ISSN 1754-9434

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Abstract

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rudolph et al. (2020) argue that frontline healthcare workers are facing very high levels of job stressors and strains, which may develop into detrimental long-term outcomes. In addition, they point to the heavy burden of jobs in “businesses that continue to provide service to the public” (p. 8). While we agree with these points, we believe that the full costs borne by those working on the COVID-19 frontlines have been understated, as well as the reasons why. In this commentary, we argue that the burden from the global pandemic falls heavily on often marginalized groups working in so-called “dirty jobs” (i.e., "occupations that are likely to be perceived as disgusting or degrading", Ashforth & Kreiner, 1999, p. 413) who already face serious preexisting health and socioeconomic disparities. The pandemic has merely exacerbated such pre-existing workplace inequalities. To protect these vulnerable workers, we pose potential interventions at the national, community, and organizational levels. We conclude our commentary with thoughts on how we can find a silver lining in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: social psychology,applied psychology ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3200/3207
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Social Sciences > Norwich Business School
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Employment Systems and Institutions
Related URLs:
Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 17 Feb 2021 00:58
Last Modified: 04 Aug 2023 00:49
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/79265
DOI: 10.1017/iop.2021.33

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