This article critically analyzes the conceptual and operational relationship between informality and quality of employment in light of the problems of job security in Colombia. It demonstrates that the notion of informality is inadequate to define and inform policy making and addresses the main challenges that workers face in terms of work-related insecurities. As a response, a multidimensional definition and operationalization of precarious work is proposed. The results suggest that precariousness is a central notion to explore objective degrees of the quality of work that cut across formal/informal boundaries.