Anticipating and managing the impact of change

The digital age: Implications of automation, digitisation and platforms for work and employment

Flagship report
Published
15 December 2021
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Executive summary in 22 languages
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Author(s): 
Mandl, Irene

Sejbiet ewlenin

  • To ensure that Europe does not fall behind other world regions and reaps the benefits of digitalisation, policymakers should explore pathways to further support the digitalisation of European businesses. They should consider, for example, financial support, the exchange of use cases on digital deployment, and facilitating cooperation on the development and implementation of technologies. An opportunity for doing so is the state support linked to the European Commission’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.
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  • To ensure that Europe does not fall behind other world regions and reaps the benefits of digitalisation, policymakers should explore pathways to further support the digitalisation of European businesses. They should consider, for example, financial support, the exchange of use cases on digital deployment, and facilitating cooperation on the development and implementation of technologies. An opportunity for doing so is the state support linked to the European Commission’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.
  • Specific attention should be paid to supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (in line with the vision for Europe’s Digital Decade), as well as specific sectors and Member States that need to increase their pace of digitalisation.
  • Tools to anticipate skills needs, such as Cedefop’s Skills Panorama at EU level or similar instruments in the Member States, should be maintained and, if needed, developed further to focus on skills needs in the digital age.
  • Pathways to equip vulnerable groups (such as older workers and those with low formal educational attainments) with relevant skills should be explored, in line with the Action Plan for the European Pillar of Social Rights and the EU Skills Agenda. At the same time, managers need to be trained in the particularities of work organisation and people management in the digital age. For workers affected by redundancies, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers can play a role in supporting their reskilling or upskilling.
  • Early warning tools should be used to alert policymakers to any indications of decreasing employment quality arising from the adoption of digital technologies, including potential misclassification of employment status. Policymakers should explore the causes of such developments and their impact on businesses and workers, as a basis for informed policymaking.
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Sommarju

Technological change is accelerating as the capacity of electronic devices to digitally store, process and communicate information expands. Digitalisation is transforming the EU economy and labour markets: nearly one-third of EU workplaces are categorised as highly digitalised. What are the impliRead more

Technological change is accelerating as the capacity of electronic devices to digitally store, process and communicate information expands. Digitalisation is transforming the EU economy and labour markets: nearly one-third of EU workplaces are categorised as highly digitalised. What are the implications of the digital revolution for employment and work? And how might it affect social dialogue?

Eurofound has produced a body of work to explore these questions. The work is structured around three vectors of change in digitalisation – automation, digitisation and platforms – that are affecting employment and working conditions and social dialogue. The main results of this research have been compiled in the online resource The digital age: Automation, digitisation and platforms. This report draws from that resource to provide a digest of the findings and policy pointers.

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Formats and languages

  • Report

    Number of pages: 
    34
    Reference no.: 
    EF21007
    ISBN: 
    978-92-897-2213-1
    Catalogue no.: 
    TJ-06-21-150-EN-N
    DOI: 
    10.2806/288
    Permalink: 
    eurofound.link/ef21007
    Catalogue info

    The digital age: Implications of automation, digitisation and platforms for work and employment

    Author(s): 
    Mandl, Irene
    Topics: 
    New forms of employment; Platform work; Employment structure; Employment relationship; Employment and labour markets; Anticipating and managing the impact of change; Digitalisation; Job creation

    Formats

    Cite this publication: 

    Eurofound (2021), The digital age: Implications of automation, digitisation and platforms for work and employment, Challenges and prospects in the EU series, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

  • Executive summary

    Reference no.: 
    EF21007EN1
    Catalogue info

    The digital age: Implications of automation, digitisation and platforms for work and employment

    Author(s): 
    Eurofound

    Available for download in 22 languages

    Download

  • Tables and graphs

    The flagship report contains the following tables and figures.

    List of tables

    • Table 1: Employment – Main opportunities and risks
    • Table 2: Quality of work and working conditions – Main opportunities and risks
    • Table 3: Social dialogue and collective bargaining – Main opportunities and risks

    List of figures

    • Figure 1: Overview of the expected challenges for work and employment by vector of change
    • Figure 2: Analytical framework of the discussion
    • Figure 3: Digitalisation intensity of establishments (%), by establishment size, EU27 and the UK, 2019
    • Figure 4: Prevalence of platform work in the EU27, Norway and the UK, 2013–2014 and 2020
    • Figure 5: Change in number of employees since 2016 (%), by digitalisation intensity of establishments, EU27 and the UK, 2019
    • Figure 6: Expected change in number of employees in the coming three years (%), by digitalisation intensity of establishments, EU27 and the UK, 2019
    • Figure 7: Shares of employees whose jobs have high automation risk (%), by occupation, EU27, 2020
    • Figure 8: Management approach (%), by digitalisation intensity of establishments, EU27 and the UK, 2019

  • Online resource

    The digital age: Automation, digitisation and platforms

    The digital age resource provides an overview of research findings on topics at the centre of digitalisation, structured around three vectors of change – automation, digitisation and platforms. It explores the implications of the digital revolution for employment, working conditions and social dialogue. Findings are presented in a range of research digests, policy pointers and definitions.

Research carried out prior to the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020, and published subsequently, may include data relating to the 28 EU Member States. Following this date, research only takes into account the 27 EU Member States (EU28 minus the UK), unless specified otherwise.

Part of the series

  • Challenges and prospects in the EU

    Eurofound’s Flagship report series 'Challenges and prospects in the EU' comprise research reports that contain the key results of multiannual research activities and incorporate findings from different related research projects. Flagship reports are the major output of each of Eurofound’s strategic areas of intervention and have as their objective to contribute to current policy debates.

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