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Fewer jobs, better jobs? An international comparative study of robots and ‘routine’ work in the public sector

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  • Caroline Lloyd
  • Jonathan Payne

Abstract

Routine manual work is often considered particularly vulnerable to digitalisation. Alongside potential employment effects, jobs are expected to change in terms of task and skill requirements. This article contributes to debates on the pace of digitalisation and the impact on low‐skilled manual work through a study of transport robots in public hospitals in Norway and Scotland. Drawing on qualitative research, the findings are used to analyse the role of unions, as part of ‘country’ and ‘sector’ effects, shaping digitalisation and its outcomes.

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  • Caroline Lloyd & Jonathan Payne, 2021. "Fewer jobs, better jobs? An international comparative study of robots and ‘routine’ work in the public sector," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 109-124, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:52:y:2021:i:2:p:109-124
    DOI: 10.1111/irj.12323
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Melanie Arntz & Terry Gregory & Ulrich Zierahn, 2016. "The Risk of Automation for Jobs in OECD Countries: A Comparative Analysis," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 189, OECD Publishing.
    2. Thomas Haipeter, 2020. "Digitalisation, unions and participation: the German case of ‘industry 4.0’," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 242-260, May.
    3. Pfeiffer, Sabine, 2016. "Robots, Industry 4.0 and humans, or why assembly work is more than routine work," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 6(2 (Articl), pages 1-26.
    4. Vis, Iris F.A., 2006. "Survey of research in the design and control of automated guided vehicle systems," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(3), pages 677-709, May.
    5. Lloyd, Caroline & Payne, Jonathan, 2016. "Skills in the Age of Over-Qualification: Comparing Service Sector Work in Europe," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199672356.
    6. Frey, Carl Benedikt & Osborne, Michael A., 2017. "The future of employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 254-280.
    7. Sabine Pfeiffer, 2016. "Robots, Industry 4.0 and Humans, or Why Assembly Work Is More than Routine Work," Societies, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-26, May.
    8. Briken, Kendra & Chillas, Shiona & Krzywdzinski, Martin & Marks, Abigail, 2017. "Labour Process Theory and the New Digital Workplace," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 1-17.
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    Cited by:

    1. Janine Berg & Francis Green & Laura Nurski & David A Spencer, 2023. "Risks to job quality from digital technologies: Are industrial relations in Europe ready for the challenge?," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 29(4), pages 347-365, December.
    2. Jonathan Payne & Caroline Lloyd & Secki P. Jose, 2023. "‘They tell us after they've decided things’: A cross‐country analysis of unions and digitalisation in retail," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 3-19, January.
    3. Caroline Lloyd & Jonathan Payne, 2023. "Digital skills in context: Working with robots in lower-skilled jobs," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 44(4), pages 1084-1104, November.

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