The Future of Work

Could reducing working time offer a way to a fairer, healthier, and more sustainable society?

Françoise Gollain draws on the work of André Gorz, a key thinker of political ecology, to reflect on the meaning of ‘work’ and its centrality in society.

Much of the work which sustains society goes unrecognised. Politicians and experts from around Europe discuss experiences and policies in their country, and how to better account for domestic, care and other socially useful unpaid and often invisible forms of work.

With work stressful, unsatisfying, and in short supply, Andy Beckett introduces ‘post-work’, the enticing prospect (or pipe dream) holding that work will soon be a thing of the past.

As digitalisation turns the world of work upside down, Reiner Hoffmann discusses the situation of employees in the future labour market, and the role of the EU and trade unions.

A photo essay by Apolena Rychlíková and Saša Uhlová on the harsh, insecure, and unsafe reality of temp agency work in the Czech Republic.

Four panellists discuss the perils and possibilities of today’s so-called ‘gig economy’, and how governments can keep up.

Alain Supiot makes an ambitious and much-needed proposal for a labour law reform that would protect workers while creating autonomy in the organisation and design of work.

Flexibility: one person’s freedom and another’s insecurity. Dutch GroenLinks MEP Bas Eickhout and recruitment expert Robby Vanuxem discuss contemporary changes and challenges in the world of work.

The editorial team presents the 17th thematic edition, “Work on the Horizon”, and sets forth why the future of work represents the key political challenge of our time.