Ontological Reconstruction of Marginalized Worker Welfare Beyond Utilitarian Measurement: Precarity Social Justice Perspective

Abstract

Conventional welfare measurement predominantly relies on utilitarian economic indicators, limiting its ability to capture the multidimensional realities experienced by marginalized workers. This study aims to reconstruct the ontological concept of worker welfare by integrating perspectives of labor precarity and social justice beyond conventional utilitarian measurement. A qualitative conceptual research design was employed through a thematic synthesis of peer-reviewed literature on welfare, ontology, precarity, capability, and social justice. The analysis identified three principal findings: welfare extends beyond material prosperity toward dignity and recognition, labor precarity generates interconnected economic, institutional, and psychological vulnerabilities, and social justice reconstructs welfare through redistribution, recognition, and representation. The study contributes a novel conceptual framework that integrates ontology, labor precarity, and social justice into a unified understanding of marginalized worker welfare. Future welfare assessment and labor policies should incorporate multidimensional human-centered indicators alongside conventional economic measures.