Precarity and Dignity: An Inquiry into the  Socio-Economic Lives of Contract Security  Workers at Jawaharlal Nehru University New  Delhi

Santosh Kumar Saw

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i01.69165

Precarity and Dignity: An Inquiry into the Socio-Economic Lives of Contract Security Workers at Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi

Author(s)	Santosh Kumar Saw
Country	India
Abstract	The private security industry has become a significant employer in India’s urban economy, drawing large numbers of contract-based workers through outsourced agencies. Despite the appearance of formality like uniforms basic training, and licensing, employer and employee’s relations for private security guards remain profoundly precarious. This study is aimed to investigate the unstable contracts, arbitrary deployment, low and delayed wages, irregular working hours, and weak social protection. the research is grounded in ethnographic fieldwork involving semi-structured interviews, informal conversations, and of contract security guards deployed in JNU. the research shows how agency contracting and institution cost minimization sustain an “informal core” within a seemingly formal sector. Guards frequently experience redeployment, lack of leave, absence of accident/medical/insurance benefits, poor remuneration, and a persistent sense of disposability, producing feelings of disrespect, diminished self-worth, wanted to work overtime but have not, resulting in less wages, and a “lack of future.” Complementing these findings, studies such as Doing Dignity Work illustrate how guards attempt to navigate this structural marginalization. While those at low-status sites face acute dignity loss, guards at large reputed organizations perform “dignity work” cultivating client trust, disciplined conduct, and relational stability to reclaim social respect. Yet such gains remain fragile due to contractual instability and psychosocial stress, demonstrating how Precarity fundamentally shapes both material conditions and dignity at work.
Keywords	Contract security guards, Precarity and Dignity at work, Agency contracting, Working conditions, Social protection, structural marginalization, Semi-structured interviews.
Field	Sociology > Economics
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 1, January-February 2026
Published On	2026-02-18
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i01.69165

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Precarity and Dignity: An Inquiry into the Socio-Economic Lives of Contract Security Workers at Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi

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