IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ipt/laedte/201905.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Digitalisation of Future Work and Employment. Possible impact and policy responses

Author

Listed:
  • Chris Warhurst

    () (Warwick Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick)

  • Wil Hunt

    () (Warwick Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick)

Abstract

This Working Paper outlines claims about the ‘future of work’ (as the shorthand for work and employment) and the policy responses to those claims. It is based on a review of the academic and grey literatures on digitalisation and the future of work. The paper first explains the two main developments by which the new digital technologies are shaping work and employment – Industrie 4.0 and Uberisation, and the claims of the death of work and the death of employment arising respectively from these developments. It then examines the policy responses to each development, finding responses to the first to be centred on welfare rights and the second to be centred on labour rights. It also examines past and newly emerging empirical evidence about the future of work, including other trends that are impacting this future. The review suggests that digital technology will not deterministically shape the future of work but that options and choices exist over what and how technology is implemented and with what effects. It concludes by offering a number of policy pointers about how the future of work and its understanding can be better developed.

Suggested Citation

  • Chris Warhurst & Wil Hunt, 2019. "The Digitalisation of Future Work and Employment. Possible impact and policy responses," JRC Working Papers on Labour, Education and Technology 2019-05, Joint Research Centre (Seville site).
    • Handle: RePEc:ipt:laedte:201905
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/sites/jrcsh/files/jrc117404.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Berg, Janine., 2016. "Income security in the on-demand economy : findings and policy lessons from a survey of crowdworkers," ILO Working Papers 994906483402676, International Labour Organization.
    2. De Groen, Willem Pieter & Maselli, Ilaria & Fabo, Brian, 2016. "The Digital Market for Local Services: A one-night stand for workers? An example from the on-demand economy," CEPS Papers 11438, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    3. Fiona M. Wilson & David A. Buchanan, 1988. "The Effect of New Technology in the Engineering Industry: Cases of Control and Constraint," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 2(3), pages 366-380, September.
    4. David H. Autor, 2015. "Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(3), pages 3-30, Summer.
    5. Paul Thompson, 2013. "Financialization and the workplace: extending and applying the disconnected capitalism thesis," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 27(3), pages 472-488, June.
    6. Siou Chew Kuek & Cecilia Paradi-Guilford & Toks Fayomi & Saori Imaizumi & Panos Ipeirotis & Patricia Pina & Manpreet Singh, 2015. "The Global Opportunity in Online Outsourcing," World Bank Other Operational Studies 22284, The World Bank.
    7. Jonathan V. Hall & Alan B. Krueger, 2018. "An Analysis of the Labor Market for Uber’s Driver-Partners in the United States," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 71(3), pages 705-732, May.
    8. Wajcman, Judy, 2017. "Automation: is it really different this time?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 69811, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christine Mayrhuber & Julia Bock-Schappelwein, 2018. "Dimensionen plattformbasierter Arbeit in Österreich und Europa. Implikationen für die soziale Sicherheit," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 61667, February.
    2. Christine Mayrhuber & Julia Bock-Schappelwein, 2018. "Digitalisierung und soziale Sicherheit," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 91(12), pages 891-897, December.
    3. Werner Eichhorst, 2017. "Labor Market Institutions and the Future of Work: Good Jobs for All?," Working Papers id:11689, eSocialSciences.
    4. Francesco Bogliacino & Valeria Cirillo & Cristiano Codagnone & Marta Fana & Francisco Lupanez-Villanueva & Giuseppe A Veltri, 2019. "Shaping individual preferences for social protection: the case of platform workers," LEM Papers Series 2019/21, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    5. Paola Tubaro & Antonio A. Casilli, 2019. "Micro-work, artificial intelligence and the automotive industry," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 46(3), pages 333-345, September.
    6. Heiland, Heiner, 2020. "Workers' Voice in platform labour: An Overview," WSI Studies 21, The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans Böckler Foundation.
    7. Paola Tubaro & Antonio Casilli & Marion Coville, 2020. "The trainer, the verifier, the imitator: Three ways in which human platform workers support artificial intelligence," Post-Print hal-02554196, HAL.
    8. Maarten Goos & Melanie Arntz & Ulrich Zierahn & Terry Gregory & Stephanie Carretero Gomez & Ignacio Gonzalez Vazquez & Koen Jonkers, 2019. "The Impact of Technological Innovation on the Future of Work," JRC Working Papers on Labour, Education and Technology 2019-03, Joint Research Centre (Seville site).
    9. Serpil ÇİĞDEM, 2019. "Endüstri 4.0 ve Dijital Emek Platformlarının İnsana Yakışır İş Bağlamında Değerlendirilmesi," Journal of Social Policy Conferences, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 0(77), pages 157-199, December.
    10. Crowley, Frank & Doran, Justin, 2019. "Automation and Irish Towns: Who's Most at Risk?," SRERC Working Paper Series SRERCWP2019-1, University College Cork (UCC), Spatial and Regional Economic Research Centre (SRERC).
    11. Maier, Michael F. & Viete, Steffen & Ody, Margard, 2017. "Plattformbasierte Erwerbsarbeit: Stand der empirischen Forschung," IZA Research Reports 81, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Fabo, B., 2017. "Towards an understanding of job matching using web data," Other publications TiSEM b8b877f2-ae6a-495f-b6cc-9, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    13. Julia Bock-Schappelwein & Michael Böheim & Elisabeth Christen & Stefan Ederer & Matthias Firgo & Klaus S. Friesenbichler & Werner Hölzl & Mathias Kirchner & Angela Köppl & Agnes Kügler & Christine May, 2018. "Politischer Handlungsspielraum zur optimalen Nutzung der Vorteile der Digitalisierung für Wirtschaftswachstum, Beschäftigung und Wohlstand," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 61256, February.
    14. Mohammad Amir Anwar & Mark Graham, 2020. "Hidden transcripts of the gig economy: labour agency and the new art of resistance among African gig workers," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(7), pages 1269-1291, October.
    15. Werner Eichhorst & Ulf Rinne, 2017. "Digital Challenges for the Welfare State," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 18(04), pages 03-08, December.
    16. Adrian Otoiu & Ramona Bere & Catalin Silvestru, 2017. "An Assessment of the First Round Impact of Innovation Industries on Europe’s Regional Economies," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 19(44), pages 289-289, February.
    17. Lütkenhorst, Wilfried, 2018. "Creating wealth without labour? Emerging contours of a new techno-economic landscape," Discussion Papers 11/2018, German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE).
    18. Erling Barth & James C. Davis & Richard B. Freeman & Kristina McElheran, 2020. "Twisting the Demand Curve: Digitalization and the Older Workforce," Working Papers 20-37, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    19. Cristiano CODAGNONE & Giovanni LIVA & Egidijus BARCEVICIUS & Gianluca MISURACA & Luka KLIMAVICIUTE & Michele BENEDETTI & Irene VANINI & Giancarlo VECCHI & Emily RYEN GLOINSON & Katherine STEWART & Sti, 2020. "Assessing the impacts of digital government transformation in the EU: Conceptual framework and empirical case studies," JRC Working Papers JRC120865, Joint Research Centre (Seville site).
    20. Santos, Sergio & Kissamitaki, Maritsa & Chiesa, Matteo, 2020. "Should humans work?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(6).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    digitalisation; future of work; labour rights; technological determinism; welfare rights;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ipt:laedte:201905. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Publication Officer). General contact details of provider: http://edirc.repec.org/data/ipjrces.html .

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.