Future of Work and Inclusive Growth in Europe

Technological development, and in particular, digitalisation, has major implications for labour markets and the nature of work itself. There is a rise in alternative types of work that today’s European welfare states have not yet had the chance to adapt to. The transformation of the way we work is only likely to speed up because of the pandemic. While there is still uncertainty surrounding the long-term economic implications of the pandemic, we know that Europe’s digital future, and its relationship with its workforce in particular, will be wholly impacted, and it will require an inclusive, cross-sector response moving forward. The project brings together academics, policymakers, practitioners, and the private sector to bridge new insights on critical issues with opportunities for practical application.

The Future of Work and Inclusive growth project is divided into four main workstreams

1. Technology and tasks: changing what we do at work

• Effects on job quality and wellbeing at work
• Distributional effects in the labour market

2. Technology and the employment relationship: changing how, when and where we work

• New forms of work organisation (platform and hybrid work)
• Balance of power and discrimination in the labour market

3. Technology and skills: changing what need to know at work

• Reskilling workers in jobs at risk for automation
• Transitioning workers towards future-proof jobs

4. Technology beyond work: digital inclusion and shared prosperity

• Digital divide: technology, poverty and inequality
• Data governance and health

The thematic workstreams are carried out through the following activities and outputs:

• Creation of the Excellence Network – platform for a diverse community of stakeholders (academia, policy representatives, business sector, employers’ organizations, trade unions, innovative small companies) to allow exchange of insights and enhance a stronger collaboration between different social and economic actors.
• Policy papers written by the experts in the Excellence Network and Bruegel’s fellows.
• Case studies to share best practices in private and public initiatives for steering technological change in a human-centred direction and helping workers adapt through reskilling and transitioning.
• Dashboard – an interactive, comprehensive analytical tool that monitors the impact of technological change on labour markets in Europe.
• Events in Brussels and other EU countries to share and discuss the findings of the research with strategic stakeholders across Europe.
• Dissemination of results through social media, data visualizations, podcasts and other Bruegel’s output.