Unemployment Benefit at Work. The Appropriation of a Public Policy by Intermittent Workers in the Performing Arts in France

Abstract

The rise of atypical forms of employment invites us to scrutinize unemployment benefit provision. Unlike the modern world of employment, based on “standard employment contract,” wage-earners in the performing arts advocate for the highly flexible regime of “intermittent” employment. Through the study of the effects of a deregulated market on careers, status and meaning of work, shared by atypical wage-earners, our aim is to understand the informal role of this compensation policy for their self-conception.