ABSTRACT
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the quality of work was steadily eroding, with work becoming increasingly insecure, poorly paid, and unhealthy. COVID-19 exacerbated these existing trends and coupled with systemic oppression, a deteriorating social safety net, and the declining power of unions, this new state of precarity defines working in the 21st century. Moreover, a neoliberal focus on profit, economic growth, and individualism at the expense of human flourishing has built a misplaced focus on economic metrics that often do not reflect the well-being of workers, such as GDP growth and stock market indices. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed social inequities related to work and shifted power back to labor, providing a critical opportunity to refocus on metrics that matter to workers. Rather than standard economic metrics, I propose that the primary index should be worker flourishing, composed of decent work, human rights and dignity, social justice and equity, a strong social safety net, well-being and mental health, fulfilling work, and worker voice and protections. Such an index would redefine policy objectives and how the media reports on the health of the economy.
