Search Results

Digitalisation, the increase in the use of digital technology, is changing the world of work. These changes not only refer to the introduction of new technologies (innovations) but the deep impact they are having on the framework used by businesses to meet customers' needs and wants. This literature review focuses on changes brought about by the digitisation of processes where previously analogue processes have been transformed into digital ones, e.g. monitoring a production process with sensors' data. It explores the effects on work and employment in circumstances where 'the goods become the data'.

First, a short description and definitions of the three technologies being used in the digitisation of production processes, 3d printing, Internet of Things and virtual reality, will be presented. Then findings on the impact of these technologies on job quality and employment will be reported and discussed. For this purpose we are classifying the effects of digitisation described in the literature according to the EJM Job Quality Index (Eurofound, 2013) which divides job quality into intrinsic quality of work (skills, autonomy and social support, and workplace risks), employment quality (contractual relation and development opportunities) and working time and work life balance. Finally, a discussion on the findings (up to August 2017) and on research gaps will be presented.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

This review looks at selected relevant literature dealing with platforms and their implications for labour market, job quality, social policy and industrial relations. For the purpose of this literature review, the term platform indicates the use of digital platforms for coordinating economic activity, which refers to the use of digital networks to coordinate economic transactions in an algorithmic way. However, the focus lies on platforms intermediating paid work (that is, crowd employment platforms), as opposed to voluntary work, finance, or accommodation. It is based on desk research on academic papers, specialised journals on productivity management and engineering, and some references to newspaper articles given that the topic is very much contemporary and new articles are published on an ongoing basis. The geographic scope is EU Member States with comparison to developments in the United States where applicable. The review includes documents up to August 2017.

Edited excerpt from publication. Show less

This literature review takes stock of the implications of automation for the labour market, job quality, social dialogue and social policy emerging from recent studies in the field to explore the main trends and findings and to identify research gaps and inform future research. For the purpose of this literature review, automation is understood as the replacement of (human) labour input by (digitally-enabled) machine input for some types of tasks within production and distribution processes. Automation of work refers to any or a combination of the following technologies: advanced robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning. This literature review is based on desk research on academic papers, specialised journals on productivity management and engineering, and some references to newspaper articles given that the topic is very much contemporary and new documents are published on an ongoing basis. The geographic scope is EU Members States with comparison to developments in the United States where applicable. The review includes documents up to August 2017.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

The long-term care (LTC) sector employs a growing share of workers in the EU and is experiencing increasing staff shortages. The LTC workforce is mainly female and a relatively large and increasing proportion is aged 50 years or older. Migrants are often concentrated in certain LTC jobs. This report maps the LTC workforce's working conditions and the nature of employment and role of collective bargaining in the sector. It also discusses policies to make the sector more attractive, combat undeclared work and improve the situation of a particularly vulnerable group of LTC workers: live-in carers. The report ends with a discussion and policy pointers on addressing expected staff shortages and the challenges around working conditions.

Abstract from publisher's website. Show less

The aim of this working paper is to provide information about the working conditions and in-service training opportunities of early childhood education and care (ECEC) workers and to describe how these factors are linked to outcomes for children. This paper is part of the research project ‘Assessing childcare services’ being carried out by [European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions] Eurofound in 2013 and 2014. The project focuses on the two dimensions of early childhood education and care that have been the main focus of policy initiatives at European level: ensuring that services are accessible and that they are of good quality.

Abstract from publisher’s website. Show less