LAUSR

The level of uncertainty and fear introduced by COVID-19 pandemic has threatened the relationships, work and meanings of existence. From the point of view of the labor market, the COVID-19 crisis has undermined the illusion of security at work, leading to a massive career shock and accentuating the existing inequities in the labor market, with severe economic and societal implications in terms of career experiences, job opportunities and career paths (Akkermans et al., 2020). During a pandemic, the loss of employment opportunities represents a source of fear which aggravates the intense concerns and anxieties about health and death. According to a preliminary report from the International Labor Organization (ILO., 2020) estimating between 5.3 and 24.7 million unemployed, the most negative impact will be felt by lowwage and low-skill employees. Jobless individuals tend to be those who have had precarious jobs in fields that typically do not offer long-term contracts, decent wages, and health benefits (ILO., 2020). Since the individuals’ work-lives represents a source of motivation, expression of personal believes and high-quality interpersonal interaction (Crayne, 2020), reconstructing life after this pandemic will need to consider a new perspective of work as a core value in creating decent and decorous work, which has been limited by COVID-19 crisis (Blustein and Guarino, 2020). This situation has leading researchers to ask questions about the processes by which individuals cope with a job loss experience and the mechanisms triggering attitudes of resilience and exploration of sustainable careers that would imply seeing oneself either in a constantly evolving path, or developing additional skills, or retooling for other jobs and building new career networks (Hite andMcDonald, 2020). Studying these aspects will help direct active labor policy interventions aimed at promoting and supporting the employability of people looking for work.