Insecure work has profound impacts on the individual. Job insecurity causes anxiety and stress and frequently leads to individuals feeling unable to commit to other long term life decisions such as starting a family or securing long term housing, due to the uncertainty of their income.
Being trapped in insecure work can also undermine the possibility of establishing a career, especially an academic career as casual workers do not receive the same opportunities for development and advancement that ongoing employees access.
Finally, the rise of casualisation of the academic profession threatens the future of our university system as a whole generation of academics are denied entry. The ongoing failure of the universities to engage in long term workforce planning in favour of short term gain and flexibility will have long term consequences for the sector and the knowledge and research capacity of the country. Additionally casual workers are not paid to maintain academic currency which is a key part of the regulatory standards governing universities in Australia.