Ethnographic Study on the Everyday Lived Experiences of Young Workers

Synopsis:

This ethnographic study on young workers, especially those working in precarious jobs, is led by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Social Lab at the National University of Singapore. The study is part of a larger project by the Social Service Research Centre, funded by the Social Science Thematic Grant. The project commenced in September 2019 and is expected to complete in three and a half years. 

The aim of the project is to understand the experiences and challenges of young workers, especially those working in precarious jobs in Singapore. The focus is on understanding the challenges they face every day — particularly in employment, financial situation, time management, personal relations — and their decision-making processes towards formal training programmes. The ethnographic study will further provide an investigation of these experiences by examining selected occupations, to deepen the understanding of relevant precarious jobs (e.g. gig economy workers like Grab drivers) as well as the gendered and racial nuances of these experiences. 

The ethnography study is titled “Everyday Lived Experiences of Young Workers”. Ethnographic research uses an open-ended interpretive process that prioritises the constant interaction between the researcher and their subject. This allows the creation and nurturing of shared understanding of the meaning of thought and action. The ethnographic research thus considers the central questions of why and how workers make certain decisions pertaining to work and family life; what is the lived-in reality of workers and how their decisions are affected; what are the dynamics of identity formation; and why and in what particular ways they respond to possible career opportunities outside current low-wage work. 

The knowledge gained will help policymakers and scholars understand the views and experiences of young Singaporean workers better in order to inform various policy interventions. 

Data collection for the ethnography study is on-going, from March 2020 to April 2023.  Interested participants may contact IPS Social Lab to be part of the study: decb64_c3BwYngxOTJAbnVzLmVkdS5zZw==_decb64

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Study information
2. Purpose of the study
3. Invitation to participate in the ethnographic study
4. Who can participate?
5. What do I have to do for this study?
   
6. Will there be reimbursement for participation in the study?
7. How will my privacy and the confidentiality of my research records be protected?
8. Are there any risks in participating in this study?
9. What will the data be used for?
10. Can I refuse to participate in this study?
11. What if I have further questions?

1. Study information

Everyday Lived Experiences of Young Workers

Principal Investigator:
Dr Mathew Mathews
Principal Research Fellow

Contact Details: 
Social Lab, Institute of Policy Studies (IPS)
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
National University of Singapore (NUS)
20 Evans Road, Singapore 259365
Tel: 6601 3223 / 8668 8992, Email: decb64_aXBzLnNvY2xhYkBudXMuZWR1LnNn_decb64

2. Purpose of the study

This study examines the lives of young Singaporeans in terms of their work life, economic stability, health, leisure, and personal and familial aspirations. This research will help policymakers design and develop programmes to address the care and concerns of the target groups. 

3. Invitation to participate in the ethnographic study

You are invited to take part in the data collection of the ethnographic study, which entails an in-depth interview and observation stage. The interview will be conducted either online or face-to-face, depending on your preference.

Please read the information about it here and also feel free to ask questions that can help you decide whether to participate in it.

4. Who can participate? 

Singapore citizens between aged 21–40 years old, and currently employed in the following sectors:

• Administrative
• Delivery Services
• Food and Beverage
• Logistics
• Retail
• Service
• Own Account Workers (e.g. Grab drivers)
  
  

5. What do I have to do for this study?

We would like to get to know you better. We may make notes by hand about our conversation, and these will be kept confidential, as will your identity. We would conduct an in-depth interview with you for this study. In addition, we may conduct follow-up interviews throughout the course of the three-year study. The length of these in-depth interviews can range from 1–2 hours. We may also ask you to take us through relevant work and social networking sites that you frequent, to understand the issues others face in similar jobs (e.g. Grab driver chat groups, Hardwarezone forum discussions).

You may request for the interviewer to conduct the interview at your preferred time and date. You have the option to make an appointment for the interviewer to return to your household or the location of your choice.

With your consent and at your convenience, the researcher will follow your activities or conduct research at your workplace for approximately one (1) month. However, we will continue to keep in touch with you through social networking platforms as well as in person throughout the duration of this entire study.

6. Will there be reimbursement for participation in the study? 

Upon successful completion of the interview, participants will be reimbursed with a $10 meal e-voucher as a token in appreciation of your time and effort. During the research, the researcher may also purchase food and drinks for your consumption.

7. How will my privacy and the confidentiality of my research records be protected?

Some personal data will be collected from you (name, address, phone number, social media profiles and the name of the organisation you work with). 

Your responses and name of the organisation are strictly confidential and known only to the Principal Investigator and Research Team. Only the Principal Investigator and his Research Team will have your personal and organisation’s identifiable information, which will be used to schedule the observations and conversations. All identifiable information will be deleted three months after the study is completed.

All data will be anonymised, and participants and organisations will never be identified by name in reports arising from this study. No personal particulars will be given to any other party, including government agencies.  

Images taken will not contain anything that will reveal who you are or which company is involved in the study. Individuals’ faces captured will be blurred out/pixelated. No personal information will be recorded with the written notes taken.

The data which is anonymised will be archived in perpetuity by the Principal Investigator at the institute for future research publications arising from the study, whether by the Principal Investigator, other scholars, the funder, or other government agencies.

Research data used in any publication will be stored for a minimum of 10 years, in accordance with NUS Research Data Management Policy.

8. Are there any risks in participating in this study?

There are no anticipated discomforts or risks in your participation as you do not have to answer questions you do not wish to. You can also stop or pause the interview at any time.

9. What will the data be used for?

The investigators of this study will use the information gathered from the interviews to write a report and other academic papers or books. It might be used to inform relevant employment-related policies. The data from this study will be shared with government agencies and scholars, but your response will NOT be identifiable.

10. Can I refuse to participate in this study?

Yes, you can. Your decision to participate in this study is voluntary and completely up to you. You can choose to withdraw from the study and interview at any time by informing the researcher, and without giving any reason. However, your interview material can only be discarded if you request for its deletion within three months after the study is completed. It would not be possible to identify your interview material to be discarded after the said three months, as your personal identifiers would have been deleted. This means that we would not be able to identify which interview material to pull out for deletion.

11. What if I have further questions?

If you have any questions about this study, you may contact:

1. Dr Mathew Mathews, Principal Investigator, tel: 6601 1416 or email: decb64_aXBzLnNvY2xhYkBudXMuZWR1LnNn_decb64
2. Mr Pereira Shane Nicolas, Research Associate, tel: 6601 5562 or email: decb64_c2hhbmUucGVyZWlyYUBudXMuZWR1LnNn_decb64
   

For an independent opinion regarding the research and the rights of research participants, you may contact the Institutional Review Board at National University of Singapore (Tel: 6516 1234 or Email: decb64_aXJiQG51cy5lZHUuc2c=_decb64).

Enquiries:

For more details, please contact IPS Social Lab at decb64_aXBzLnNvY2xhYkBudXMuZWR1LnNn_decb64