Introduction
2020 marked an endpoint because it was the last year of several changes between 2019 and 2020. So, this paper will examine the issue of growing alienation among Chinese workers before the pandemic. The relationship between labor alienation and political economy, with empirical research to follow in this study post-COVID-19. Drawing on journals of Political Economy and the experience of the workers in these two fields – technology and manufacturing companies, before and after the epidemic in the People’s Republic of China. The paper investigates the relationship between increased isolation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and rising unemployment levels and changes in employment patterns among employees in China.
Contextualizing COVID-19’s Impact on Labor:
This was evident when the COVID-19 pandemic from 2019 to 2020 hit the world labor market with a significant effect, especially in China, the source country. The outbreak of the virus caused unprecedented disruption in businesses that had a significant impact on worker conditions[1]. Before the pandemic, the labor environment in China was defined by fast-paced industrialization, technological innovations, and a significant number of people working in the industry and IT sectors, respectively.[2]. It was one of the leading global manufacturing hubs, hosting multinational companies looking for cheap production and plentiful labor.
Despite this, China encountered a host of challenges following the outbreak of COVID-19. The rapid spread of the virus necessitated strict steps like lockdowns and restrictions[3]. These actions brought about significant turbulence in different sectors across the economy. For instance, in the manufacturing industry, there was a severe challenge of maintaining a steady supply chain – locally and globally[4]. Sudden stoppages in economic activities ensured joblessness and economic insecurity among many employees worldwide.
The Chinese labor market was relatively prone before COVID-19, with issues about working conditions, workers’ rights, and income disparities. These pre-existing issues were worsened by the pandemic, highlighting the unreliability of the labor market and widening the chasm between workers.[5]. Before the pandemic, Labor in China showed a worker intending to strive for improved conditions and rights against the backdrop of a shifting economy. However, the emergence of COVID-19 made it worse for Chinese workers since it brought unrivaled problems on top of those strains.[6]. It is therefore worth noting that an intricate connection exists between health crises such as COVID-19 and labor systems, including in a country like China, which has large populations. This historical background prepares us to understand precisely how workers were affected by the rise of the pandemic.
III. Literature Review: Political Economy and COVID-19
The analysis of primary and secondary source material.
Scholars have focused on the intersection of political economy and the COVID-19 pandemic to understand labor conditions. The primary and secondary sources allow for an in-depth portrayal of the multi-facet effects caused by political, economic, and cultural change[7]. The study of Kozhina and Vinokurov (2020) highlights essential elements of alienation that university lecturers experienced due to the pandemic situation and offers a distinctive understanding of the problems they met as a result of transformations at their institutions[8]. The studies conducted by Lagios et al. in 2023 provide crucial evidence related to the predictors and the probable consequences of the work alienation syndrome, which has become one of the significant results of the Covid period.[9]. The discussion becomes more elaborate through the study by Prashant Mehta (2022), which treats work alienation as a mediating factor within the intricate dynamics of remote working, isolation, and elevated job insecurity occasioned by the pandemic.
Case Studies
Case studies have been crucial in considering how COVID-19 has influenced work alienation across different sectors. Therefore, a key example is that of Mohamed et al. (2022), whereby nurses are highlighted to demonstrate how frontline workplaces face unique stressors in healthcare organizations. In his research published in 2022, Michael Yao-Ping Peng reveals how the COVID-19 pandemic affects the psychological distance among frontline employees working in hotels and the psychological implications this has for hospitality companies.[10]. This case study by Tsang and Wu (2022) discusses emotional labor in teaching during the pandemic and its effect on authentic versus alienated work. Together, these case studies provide richer insight into different forms and expressions of work alienation that cut across professions, contributing vital views on struggles against dehumanization in work life.
Comparison of pre-COVID-19 versus post COVID-19 situations. COVID-Impacted Labor Conditions
Analyzing labor conditions before and during post-COVID days helps reveal how much change has happened[11]. A condensed presentation of Karl Marx’s Capital by Segrillo (2020) provides a theoretical perspective for understanding labor relations over time and today. The article is crucial in describing the historical development of labor relations and how it influences work alienation[12]. An insight into the obstacles that physical teaching and sports teachers encounter is offered by the research conducted by Temel et al. (2022).
These sources explain how the pandemic changed various fields by placing them alongside past historical frameworks. The comparison makes it possible to have a detailed review of how political and economic aspects interweave into one web that shapes work processes and challenges workers face when adapting to the changed reality. The combination of different perspectives on labor conditions during the politicization of the economy in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic builds a firm ground that facilitates comprehension of the intricate nature of labor conditions.
So, it has exposed a wide range of ideas on which political economy and the COVID-19 pandemic influenced different workers in multiple fields. The complex analysis of work alienation at that time encompasses university professors, health personnel, hotel personnel, teachers, etc. This brings together points of view relevant to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers on employment relations after the pandemic. The depth and breadth of the literature reviewed provide a solid basis for further research and strategic considerations in labor studies.
Impact of COVID-19 on Employment Loss and Labor Dynamics
The Impact of the pandemic on job losses.
Between 2019 and 2020, the seismic effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Chinese labor market was huge. A report released by ILO indicates that millions of people in China lost jobs because of COVID-19. Furthermore, the ILO also drew attention to the magnitude of the problem as it noted that there was more than one challenge confronting the Chinese government when executing policies geared towards enterprise support. The report also highlighted the existing economic stress on China, with slowing economic growth and high unemployment before COVID-19. While it is only a statistic, the unemployment caused by the pandemic has a humanitarian aspect attached to it that sees individuals and families struggle in the wake of this economic catastrophe. Besides, the rapid reduction in China’s labor force and ambiguity surrounding government measures complicate the Chinese labor market pattern.
b). The connection of Labor alienation and job displacement B.
Furthermore, this was not just a mere public health crisis in its own right; it also served as an extreme aggravator of the process of labor alienation. The ILO report outlines how the health crisis led to more unemployment, revealing a connection between joblessness and labor exclusion. This was when workers had only one choice – either lose their jobs or take lower wages and worsened working conditions. However, this led to reckonings with alienations that have plagued the workers for extended joblessness. In this respect, the intersection only accentuates the demand for sophisticated solution approaches that consider all the aspects that form the network of problems inside the Chinese labor market. Policymakers struggle to formulate answers to these questions in a country plagued by this complex interrelationship of labor alienation and job displacement.
C). Specific Industries Deeply Affected
While the ripple effect of the pandemic is widely known, its Impact was strongly manifested in specific industries that constitute the oil that greases China’s economic wheel. Pillars of the nation’s industrial might: manufacturing, construction, transportation, warehousing, and postal services had experienced massive disruptions[13]. This points out the need for sensitivity while emphasizing better implementation and an integrated approach to dealing with challenges linked to the economic meltdown.[14]. In the aftermath of the pandemic, the fragility of the labor market necessitates a flexible policy approach towards a resilient recovery responsive to sector-specific necessities and broader economic considerations.
Types of Exacerbated Labor Alienation
a). The pre-COVID Labor alienation.
Before the coming of the pandemic, Chinese labor space was already fraught with rooted forms of estrangement.[15]. On the other hand, the workers found it shocking that they were not emotionally connected with the products of their labor despite performing routine jobs for long periods. This gave rise to the feeling that their participation towards achievement was only at a subsidiary level because labored services were treated as just inputs into the production process.[16]. Secondly, the exploitation of some workers heightened the existing alienation. Some workers needed more authority while being dictated by the boss’s decisions. The workers felt more impotence and remoteness amid the existing alienation from the labor relations system.
Pay discrimination remained a pervasive issue, significantly dividing the working class and further fueling general alienation. Economic precocity created an apparent disparity among workers where some gained from their labor, and others suffered in poverty[17]. This difference did not come only in financial forms but resulted in a hierarchal structure, which aggravated the marginalization of sections among the workers. The other aspect of pre-COVID labor alienation involved precarious employment conditions.[18]. The unstable conditions faced by many workers included short-term contracts, irregular work schedules, and job insecurity. Such precariousness increased workforce vulnerability towards being exploited and worsened the feeling of alienation from work-life, which was unpredictable and unstable.
The perception of being excluded also meant minimal access to social protection, making the alienation all the more pronounced. Workers were insecure and isolated within society because they had inadequate safety nets, limited healthcare coverage, and lacked support systems in case of economic downturns and individual crises[19]. Before COVID-19 in China, the period was characterized by a mélange of aspects that led to the most profound labor alienation. The challenges included detachment from the fruits of labor, the worst forms of exploitative practice, pay inequality, precariousness in workplaces, and insufficient social protection.[20]. This understanding of a pre-existent landscape is instrumental for grasping the diverse ways COVID-19 exacerbated and remolded the nature of these relationships.
New or Intensified Forms Post-COVID
COVID-19 brought forth significant changes in labor alienation, amplifying pre-existing problems and presenting new aspects. On their part, efforts toward social distancing aggravated workers’ loneliness. Lack of physical presence undermined personal ties, making people think they were alone. However, introducing surveillance technologies in remote working sites intensified the workers’ belief that they were constantly under watch, resulting in increased feelings of powerlessness. The gig economy’s growth increased job insecurity as the number of temporary and unskilled jobs increased Mehta, Prashant. “Work alienation as a mediator between work from home-related isolation, loss of task identity and job insecurity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Precocity was heightened, exposing workers to greater exploitation and reducing the diminishing sense of job security. Fear of losing a job overwhelmed every worker, exacerbating their sense of isolation and uncertainty regarding future prosperity.
A contemporary analysis of some of Marx’s concepts.
China’s industrial environment, which has followed the COVID-19 pandemic, profoundly relates to Marx’s timeless concepts of alienation. According to Marx’s concept of estrangement from one’s labor, this type of intensified isolation and detachment among workers is experienced during the pandemic.[21]. Similarly, heightened surveillance and precarious employment reflect workers’ loss of control over their jobs, which forms part of Marx’s criticism. Labor power has been commodified, which is at the heart of Marx’s analysis.[22]. Workers who are treated like commodities in an exploitative and precarious labor market are vulnerable.
Labor alienation in China after COVID-19 has been a complicated phenomenon compounded by the issues that the COVID-19 impacts have worsened. This is a modern form of Marx’s continuing antagonism towards labor in the time society based on the socio-economics elements and technological changes.[23]. In light of the increased alienation that workers are experiencing, it is time to re-examine the prevailing structures in the labor market to create an atmosphere conducive to fairness and humanity at the place of work.
Conclusion:
The catastrophic transformation in the Chinese and world labor markets came from the coronavirus and occurred from 2019 to 2020. This research highlights that the pandemic exacerbated labor estrangement, making it worse than it was previously. In this regard, it was found that various levels of alienation faced by the Chinese migrant workers from this specific age group and its issues include further job loss, increased exploitation, and distortion, which in turn led to heightened unemployment levels. Structurally, many problems stemming from the labor market must be fixed. Policymakers in China and other related parties should now see these new types of alienations from the pandemic if these problems are to be rectified. Therefore, it is essential to comprehend and surpass the new sorts of alienation as the way to equitable and green recovery at home and worldwide.
Bibliography:
Kozhina, Anastasiia A., and Leonid V. Vinokurov. “Work alienation during covid-19: main factors and conditions (an example of university professors).” Psychology in Russia: State of the art 13, no. 4 (2020): 106-118. http://psychologyinrussia.com/volumes/pdf/2020_4/Psychology_4_2020_106-118_Kozhina.pdf
Lagios, Constantin, Nicolas Lagios, Florence Stinglhamber, and Gaëtane Caesens. “Predictors and consequences of work alienation in times of crisis: Evidence from two longitudinal studies during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Current Psychology 42, no. 26 (2023): 22866-22880. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-022-03372-9
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Peng, Michael Yao-Ping, Adeel Khalid, Muhammad Usman, Muhammad Aamir Shafique Khan, and Moazzam Ali. “Fear of covid-19 and hotel frontline employees’ sense of work alienation: intervening and interactional analysis.” Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research (2022): 10963480221112054. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/10963480221112054
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Temel, Cenk, Çiğdem Gökduman, Sinan Uğraş, Ahmet Enes Sağın, Mehmet Akif Yücekaya, Mehmet Kartal, and Turhan Toros. “The Impact of COVID-19 Process on Sustainability in Education: Work Alienation of Physical Education and Sports Teachers.” Sustainability 15, no. 3 (2023): 2047. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/3/2047
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[1] Kozhina, Anastasiia A., and Leonid V. Vinokurov. “Work alienation during covid-19:
[2] Kozhina, Anastasiia A., and Leonid V. Vinokurov. “Work alienation during covid-19:
[3] Lagios, Constantin, Nicolas Lagios, Florence Stinglhamber, and Gaëtane Caesens. “Predictors and consequences of work alienation in times of crisis
[4] Lagios, Constantin, Nicolas Lagios, Florence Stinglhamber, and Gaëtane Caesens. “Predictors and consequences of work alienation in times of crisis
[5] Mehta, Prashant. “Work alienation as a mediator between work from home-related isolation, loss of task identity and job insecurity amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”
[6] Mehta, Prashant. “Work alienation as a mediator between work from home-related isolation, loss of task identity and job insecurity amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”
[7] Kozhina and Vinokurov (2020)
[8] Kozhina, Anastasiia A., and Leonid V. Vinokurov. “Work alienation during covid-19:
[9] Mehta, Prashant. “Work alienation as a mediator between work from home-related isolation, loss of task identity and job insecurity amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”
[10] Tsang and Wu, 2022
[11] Segrillo (2020)
[12] Segrillo (2020)
[13] Mohamed, Lobna Khamis, Abou Shaheen, and Rehab Abd El Moneim. “Influence of Perceived Organizational Injustice on Workplace Alienation among Nursing Staff during COVID-19 Pandemic.
[14] Mohamed, Lobna Khamis, Abou Shaheen, and Rehab Abd El Moneim. “Influence of Perceived Organizational Injustice on Workplace Alienation among Nursing Staff during COVID-19 Pandemic.
[15] Mohamed, Lobna Khamis, Abou Shaheen, and Rehab Abd El Moneim. “Influence of Perceived Organizational Injustice on Workplace Alienation among Nursing Staff during COVID-19 Pandemic.
[16] Peng, Michael Yao-Ping, Adeel Khalid, Muhammad Usman, Muhammad Aamir Shafique Khan, and Moazzam Ali. “Fear of covid-19 and hotel frontline employees’ sense of work alienation:
[17] Tsang, Kwok Kuen, and Hongyan Wu. “Emotional labor as alienated labor versus self-actualized labor in teaching:
[18] Tsang, Kwok Kuen, and Hongyan Wu. “Emotional labor as alienated labor versus self-actualized labor in teaching:
[19] Temel, Cenk, Çiğdem Gökduman, Sinan Uğraş, Ahmet Enes Sağın, Mehmet Akif Yücekaya, Mehmet Kartal, and Turhan Toros. “The Impact of COVID-19 Process on Sustainability in Education:
[20] Temel, Cenk, Çiğdem Gökduman, Sinan Uğraş, Ahmet Enes Sağın, Mehmet Akif Yücekaya, Mehmet Kartal, and Turhan Toros. “The Impact of COVID-19 Process on Sustainability in Education:
[21] Segrillo, Angelo. 2020. Karl Marx’s Capital (Vols. 1, 2, 3) Abridged.
[22] Segrillo, Angelo. 2020. Karl Marx’s Capital (Vols. 1, 2, 3) Abridged.
[23] Mehta, Prashant. “Work alienation as a mediator between work from home-related isolation, loss of task identity and job insecurity amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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