Revaluing Work: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Exposed Labor Market Failures and UBI as a Solution

Author: Denis Khrapko

Field of Study: Arts and Humanities

Program Affiliation: Source Project Research Program

Faculty Mentors: Will Glovinsky

Easel: 38

Timeslot: Midday

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic forced society to confront a fundamental flaw in labor markets: compensation does not align with social value. Essential workers—healthcare staff, food suppliers, and manual laborers—kept society running yet remained underpaid and overworked, while many white-collar workers retained financial stability and prestige. Beyond waged labor, unpaid contributions like caretaking, child-rearing, and household labor remain invisible in economic accounting despite their necessity for social reproduction and well-being. This project examines how the pandemic exposed the systemic undervaluation of both essential and uncompensated labor and explores Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a corrective measure. Drawing from "Revaluing Work after COVID-19", Graeber’s Bullshit Jobs, and studies on labor mispricing, this research argues that UBI could help rectify market distortions by providing economic stability to essential and unpaid workers alike, redistributing wealth from those able to prioritize lucrative careers to those whose responsibilities—such as caregiving and maintaining households—sustain society yet remain financially unsupported.