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Life during furlough: Challenges to dignity from a changed employment status

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  • Peter Hamilton
  • Oonagh Harness
  • Martyn Griffin

Abstract

In response to the COVID‐19 virus, the UK government introduced the Job Retention Scheme in March 2020. The scheme, a novelty in the United Kingdom, provided income support to those furloughed from work. In this paper, we examine how individuals in several occupations and organisations experienced furlough and how they were treated during this enforced period of work absence. Beyond describing their experiences during the furlough, we examine how these experiences threatened and challenged their sense of dignity. Experientially we report on furlough as a time that elicited both delight and despair. The analysis of dignity relates to how treatment based on their employment status rendered many employees marginalised and cast adrift.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Hamilton & Oonagh Harness & Martyn Griffin, 2022. "Life during furlough: Challenges to dignity from a changed employment status," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(6), pages 523-544, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:53:y:2022:i:6:p:523-544
    DOI: 10.1111/irj.12384
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Holly Blake & Juliet Hassard & Louise Thomson & Wei Hoong Choo & Teixiera Dulal-Arthur & Maria Karanika-Murray & Lana Delic & Richard Pickford & Lou Rudkin, 2025. "Psychological detachment from work predicts mental wellbeing of working-age adults: Findings from the ‘Wellbeing of the Workforce’ (WoW) prospective longitudinal cohort study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(1), pages 1-24, January.
    2. Felix Ballesteros-Leiva & Sylvie St-Onge & Marie-Ève Dufour, 2023. "Furloughed Employees’ Voluntary Turnover: The Role of Procedural Justice, Job Insecurity, and Job Embeddedness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(9), pages 1-14, April.
    3. Jacqueline Tilton & Kristen Lucas & Jennifer J. Kish-Gephart & Justin K. Kent, 2024. "Enduring, Strategizing, and Rising Above: Workplace Dignity Threats and Responses Across Job Levels," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 195(2), pages 353-374, November.

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