Digital Monitoring, Algorithmic Management and the Platformisation of Work in Europe

This report presents new evidence on the platformisation of work in the European Union, examining the prevalence and potential impacts of digital tools, digital monitoring and algorithmic management. The report is based on data from the new AIM-WORK survey, conducted in 2024-2025 and representative of the working age population in all 27 EU Member States. The data reveals that over 90% of EU workers use digital devices, with the use of AI tools at work, particularly AI chatbots powered by Large Language Models, rising rapidly: on average, a third of EU workers report using AI for work-related purposes. Digital monitoring is common, particularly for working hours and entry or exit. Algorithmic management is less prevalent but also quite significant, taking diverse forms, including automated task allocation and performance evaluation. We identify two distinct types of platformisation, typical respectively of industrial and office workplaces. Our evidence indicates that some types of platformisation have no significant implications for working conditions. However, the full platformisation of work, which includes simultaneously all the forms of digital monitoring and algorithmic management that we identify on the basis of the data, is associated with generally worse working conditions. This applies also to the forms of platformisation more prevalent in manual work settings.