Workplace Precarity

Organisational improvements alone are insufficient; without policy reforms addressing precarious work, income inequality, and structural stigma, peer workers will continue to face avoidable risks. In Canada, income inequality has reached its highest level since the late 1990s, with a 47% disposable income gap between the top and bottom two-fifths of the population. Working conditions are a social determinant of health, and occupational health now includes psychological risks such as distress and burnout. Job insecurity is associated in the general workforce with poor self-rated health and the onset or worsening of depression, anxiety, and distress. Organisations should avoid relying on low-paid, short-term, or poorly defined peer roles that reproduce precarity. Low pay and limited hours can harm health by reducing social power and limiting access to healthcare, benefits, and retirement plans.