Anticiper et gérer l’impact du changement

Principaux messages politiques

Les principaux résultats des recherches d’Eurofound permettent aux décideurs politiques de traiter certaines des questions clés dans ce domaine.

• Il est essentiel de soutenir les employeurs et les travailleurs dans la double transition vers l’ère numérique et vers une économie neutre en carbone. En plus de ces développements structurels, la récente pandémie de COVID-19 représente un énorme défi pour l’économie et le marché du travail européens.
• De nouvelles formes d’emploi, telles que le travail via une plateforme et les travaux mobiles basés sur les TIC, gagnent en importance sur les marchés du travail européens. Portées par l’utilisation des TIC, elles se caractérisent par des changements dans les relations de travail entre l’employeur et le salarié, mais aussi dans l’organisation du travail et des modes de travail. Elles entraîneront à la fois des opportunités et des risques pour les marchés du travail de l’UE confrontés à une double transition (écologique et numérique) dans le contexte de la pandémie COVID-19.
• Les technologies numériques transforment le travail et le lieu de travail, provoquant des changements sur le marché du travail tels que des restructurations et des pertes d’emplois, et de nouveaux profils d’emploi commencent également à apparaître. Les profils des tâches s’adaptent en raison de la numérisation de la production et des services, ce qui entraîne une demande de compétences différentes.
• Il sera important d’étudier les effets conjugués de ces deux transitions, numérique et écologique, à la suite de la pandémie de COVID-19 et de voir si elles se renforcent mutuellement ou si les avantages de l’une peuvent compenser les effets négatifs de l’autre.
• Les possibilités offertes par la technologie pour produire, collecter et utiliser une grande quantité de données peuvent améliorer la compétitivité des entreprises européennes et la qualité de l’emploi. Toutefois, il sera essentiel de veiller à préciser, réglementer et appliquer des mesures telles que celles sur la propriété et la protection des données afin d’éviter toute exploitation et tout comportement contraire à l’éthique.

From 2021 onwards, Eurofound will provide insights into the impact of these megatrends on living and working conditions in the EU. In the area of digitalisation, research will focus on the impact on employment and working conditions, as well as on the labour market. Areas to be covered will include social dialogue and its role in shaping structural change, regulatory frameworks, social protection and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Building on previous research on platform work, the 2021–2024 period will be an opportunity to focus on mapping and providing an assessment of the effectiveness of policy initiatives in tackling the challenges identified with platform work.

Eurofound will also aim to support the EU’s transition to a carbon-neutral economy, including the circular economy and the implementation of the EU’s recovery instrument NextGenerationEU, by investigating the socioeconomic effects. These include employment shifts and the transformation of jobs and working conditions, as well as the distributional impact of climate change policies. Some of this work will build on the results of a pilot project on the future of manufacturing (FOME) carried out by Eurofound.

To continue this work in 2021–2024, Eurofound will cooperate with various international organisations and EU agencies, for example with the European Environment Agency (EEA) in the area of social impacts of climate change policies. Furthermore, existing collaboration with other research actors in the fields of digitalisation – the Joint Research Centre (JRC), Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) and European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) – will be consolidated. Further partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO) is also foreseen on the subject of the changing world of work.

Eurofound’s research aims to assist policy action to address the transitions to both a carbon-neutral economy and the digital age in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as helping to understand the impact of these changes at EU and national levels. For example, research on the impact of these drivers of change on the workplace level will provide insight into how to best support employers and workers so they can seize the opportunities and mitigate the challenges related to these developments. Eurofound’s research will also seek to support businesses in their efforts to adapt to a constantly evolving global economy. Furthermore, the examination of the distributional impacts of climate change policies and of measures to ensure social justice will provide knowledge to help implement the Just Transition Fund. The monitoring of reforms and recent financial support will also allow for an exchange of policy approaches and lessons learned.

The Agency’s work plan is aligned with the European Commission’s political guidelines for 2021–2024, feeding directly into a number of key policy areas aimed at creating a strong social Europe. In particular, the research will support the following Commission priorities:

• European Commission: Priorities 2019–2024: An economy that works for people
• European Commission: Priorities 2019–2024: A Europe fit for the digital age
• European Commission: A European Green Deal

In 2024, Eurofound continues its research on the impact of digitalisation and the transition to a climate-neutral economy on working life. 

Various research strands linked with the digital and green transitions come to completion. This includes research into the impact of new developments in human–machine interaction on work organisation and working conditions. Research concludes on the impact of changes caused by the twin transitions at the sectoral level, focusing on the transformation of business activities, occupational and skill profiles, work organisation and working conditions. And analysis wraps up on the roles, opportunities and challenges of policy actors in the just transition, examining the design and implementation of Just Transition policies at the regional level, their mechanisms and the actors involved. 

Research continues on the impact of the green and digital transitions on the labour market and labour market actors with a project to explore company restructuring approaches and their ongoing adaptation strategies. Further research takes place on the socioeconomic impact of the transition to a carbon-neutral economy, monitoring the employment and social dimension of the green transition.

New research focuses on how managers’ roles and functions are impacted by the increase in telework and the shift towards more hybrid working in terms of challenges and opportunities.

The ongoing monitoring of the developments in the platform economy continues through Eurofound’s regularly updated web repository. Building on previous studies on platform work and the ongoing monitoring of policies and measures with regard to platform work through the web repository, new research focuses on the working conditions of online platform workers. This work aims to explore the characteristics of online platform workers and how they fare in relation to contractual arrangements and job quality, including pay, work intensity, working time, occupational health and safety, social environment and career prospects. It also explores the career goals of platform workers. 

• Resource: Platform economy repository
• Resource: The digital age: Automation, digitisation and platforms