Perceived employment vulnerability in Latin America in the context of a potential new pandemic: a multicountry cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Introduction: Emerging infectious disease threats may reactivate concerns about employment instability and economic disruption, particularly in regions marked by labor informality, social inequality, and limited social protection. Although the effects of COVID-19 on employment have been widely documented, less is known about how workers perceive the potential labor consequences of future health emergencies. This study aimed to assess perceived labor-related repercussions of a potential new pandemic among workers in Latin America.

Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted using secondary data from an online survey administered to workers from more than ten Latin American countries between June and July 2022, during the early phase of the 2022 mpox outbreak. Participants were asked about the expected impact of a potential new pandemic on their employment, salary, and overall work situation. Associations between perceived labor-related repercussions and sociodemographic and occupational factors were evaluated using Poisson generalized linear models with a log link and robust variance, adjusted for country of residence.

Results: Among 850 surveyed workers, 64.2% perceived that a potential new pandemic would have a considerable or very strong impact on their work. In the adjusted analysis, men reported a lower perceived impact than women (aPR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.78-0.97; p = 0.009). Lower perceived impact was also observed among those engaged in virtual work (aPR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.44-0.93; p = 0.018) and hybrid work (aPR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.73-0.97; p = 0.017), compared with in-person workers. No occupational sector showed a statistically significant difference compared with healthcare workers in the revised adjusted model, although the food sector had a higher, non-significant point estimate.

Conclusions: Perceived labor-related vulnerability in the context of a potential new pandemic was substantial among workers in Latin America. Perceptions differed mainly according to sex and work modality, while occupational-sector estimates should be interpreted cautiously because of subgroup heterogeneity and limited precision.