Labour conditions, political preferences and voting: a four-country study

In recent decades, a substantial body of research has focused on analyzing the impact of economic factors on political attitudes and behaviour. Numerous studies have explored how socioeconomic modernization, labour market changes, and globalization shape the dimensions of political conflict, how economic crises influence voting for radical parties, and how individuals’ economic precariousness affects their political behaviour, producing significant findings. However, the effect of workplace labour conditions on political preferences and behaviour remains a less researched area, particularly from a Political Science perspective. In this regard, fostering closer dialogue between the Sociology of Work and Political Analysis could be valuable in assessing whether and how labour conditions at the workplace influence political orientations. This is the aim of this paper, which draws on original data from recently conducted surveys in France, Germany, Spain, and Greece to examine how this influence varies across individuals and countries.