The European Commission has collected a portfolio of research on the future of work, as a preparatory step towards an EU research and innovation agenda.
Representing one of the Commission’s priorities (an economy that works for people) and taking the European Year of Skills into account, the future of work comes into focus for various policy makers. The Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) published a policy brief to highlight the importance of including an R&I perspective in the development of social policies. By bringing together a portfolio of Horizon projects dealing with the future of work, it can help policy makers to better identify future scenarios and gaps that may need to be addressed. R&I can provide an evidence-based support for comprehension of technological context as well as for anticipation of the world of work. Moreover, to make the document more accessible, DG Research and Innovation decided to organise it according to four main drivers of change with a profound influence on workplaces in Europe: the digital and green transition, inequalities, and emerging crises.
To get an overview of possible future-of-work scenarios, DG RTD has mapped a portfolio of relevant Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects. The complex issue requires a consideration of research by different disciplines (humanities, social and natural sciences), thematic fields (innovation, data protection, employment legislation, social security, education and training, health and well-being, etc.) and stakeholders (workers, employers, researchers, policymakers). Furthermore, the portfolio approach in R&I allows a clearer overview of gaps where resources are lacking and where future needs may be. It aims to increase efficiency and to facilitate analysis of project results, planning of future research projects as well as feedback to policies. The goal of this approach is thus not to simply inform labour policymakers on research outcome but to foster exchange between researchers and relevant stakeholders to create a parallel feedback loop and to assure sustainability of R&I efforts.
For these purposes, 212 Horizon 2020 research projects and 38 additional projects from Horizon Europe were selected for an inclusion in the portfolio. The selected projects were divided into four main categories which are future of jobs, job quality, inequalities in the labour market and institutional support to workers. These were broken down into further intervention categories closer to the drivers of change. In doing so, the classification attempts to identify the most relevant disciplines related to EU R&I, social and employment policy priorities, and highlights the importance of considering the interests from academia as well as the needs of policy makers.
The screening of the portfolio and the consideration of expert knowledge, accumulated in different events, allowed a first outlook on the important topics for R&I actions for the future of the EU world of work. These should not only focus on the digital and green transition but also on synergies between digital, green, or educational policies which equip the worker with sustainable skills. Furthermore, a focus on the detection of future drivers of inequalities in the labour sector needs to be developed. In terms of scientific work, multidisciplinary collaborations as well as greater inclusion of women in technical education represent another focus point for the development of new priorities in R&I for work. To foster a productive research landscape, joining forces between stakeholders at the EU, national or regional level is recommended.
The policy brief concludes with the need for a strategic approach in order to anticipate the future of work. Greater convergence from the policy cycle to research activities as well as structured project feedback to policy makers can be advantageous for both sides. To meet these needs of coordination and consultation, the Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) and DG RTD joined forces to motivate a more systematic exchange between R&I and labour policy makers. The result of this collaboration is ’ERA4FutureWork’, a sub-action of the renewed European research area. The aim of ERA4FutureWork is to develop a strategic R&I agenda for the future of work by sharing best practices, identifying gaps and future priorities for R&I efforts. More information can be found under the relevant webpage provided by the European Commission.