Call for papers Special issue 2027, vol. 53(3) of the Swiss Journal of Sociology
Invisible Vulnerabilities as a Challenge in the World of Work.
Guest editors:
- Guido Becke (Professor of Work, Organization and Health, University of Bremen
- Thomas Geisen (Professor of Workplace Integration and Disability Management, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Social Work)
- Sibylle Nideröst (Professor of Social Work, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Social Work)
Employees in contemporary labor markets are exposed to a variety of stressors that impair or limit their ability to work. In debates within the sociology of work, these stressors are primarily attributed to work activities involving physical and psychological strain, commonly associated with so-called “3D jobs” (“dirty, difficult, and dangerous”; e.g., Anderson). The rise in workrelated mental illness has also been linked to processes of “subjectification” and the “intensification of work” (e.g., Voß/Pongratz), which Ehrenberg interprets as part of a broader trend in contemporary societies that he describes as a “weariness of the self.” Moreover, changes in the organization of work – often analyzed through the lens of “precarization” (e.g., Dörre) – as well as transformations in welfare systems, for instance in relation to the “metamorphoses of the social question” (Castel) or the “reinvention of the social” (Lessenich) within the context of a “social investment state” (e.g., Giddens), are increasingly identified as new sources of stress for employees.
Given these broader “transformations in the work society” (Ernst/Becke), employees today face new challenges that macro-sociological accounts – such as the notion of a “downwardly mobile society” (Nachtwey) – fail to fully capture. From an action-theoretical perspective, a differentiated, “intersectional” (Yuval-Davis) and “process-oriented” (Elias) approach is needed to empirically analyze how these new challenges manifest in the world of work across both spatial (Schroer) and temporal (West-Pavlov) dimensions. The concept of vulnerability, which has not yet been fully taken up within the sociology of work, can make an important contribution in this regard (Tschöll, Alsdorf et al.).
The planned special issue examines various facets of vulnerability in the world of work from an international and interdisciplinary perspective. Its key aim is to explore the empirical usefulness of the concept of vulnerability for identifying and analyzing stressful work environments. This will be pursued through empirical contributions (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods) as well as methodological reflections on the challenges associated with researching vulnerability empirically. At the same time, the contributions seek to elaborate the theoretical relevance of vulnerability for process-oriented and intersectional research in the sociology of work and organizations.
Against this backdrop, the proposed contributions should focus on invisible vulnerabilities— vulnerabilities that are not immediately apparent in social interactions and that may stem from chronic health conditions, impairments, disabilities, or forms of neurodiversity. We also welcome reflections on invisible vulnerabilities in relation to a broader understanding of work that considers both work-related and private stressors, such as in connection with work–life balance issues. Specifically, we invite proposals for contributions on the following topics:
(1) Invisible vulnerability and compatibility, for example the compatibility of gainful employment with childcare or with caring for and supporting relatives;
(2) Invisible vulnerability and health impairments, such as hearing loss or (multiple) chronic illnesses, especially mental illness;
(3) Invisible vulnerability and neurodiversity;
(4) Work activities as sources of invisible vulnerability, for example in connection with precarious employment, interaction work, or unskilled work;
(5) The social production of invisible vulnerability in different contexts of paid work, including social and health inequalities;
(6) Theoretical discussions of “invisible vulnerability” in inter- and transdisciplinary work research.
Please submit your proposal for the planned special issue to: thomas.geisen@fhnw.ch
Before submission, please note:
• Proposals should be no longer than 600 words; deadline: February 20, 2026;
• Notification of acceptance: March 20, 2026;
• Full articles should be no longer than 8,000 words (including bibliography); deadline: July 31, 2026.
Expected date of publication: November 2027