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"An excellent summary of why and how we work." People Management magazine
What do we know about the current state of work and employment and what does the future of work look like? Professor Melanie Simms provides a far-reaching overview of paid employment in the UK, examining why we work, how we work, and what the future of work will be like with changing demographics and the introduction of modern technologies.
From zero-hour contracts, the gig economy and universal basic income, to automation, robotics and artificial intelligence, Simms analyses the most pressing issues facing traditional employment. Before outlining four priority areas where the UK should look to strengthen regulation of in order to face the coming challenges more effectively, but also, so that they benefit workers, as well as employers and managers.
Written by leading social scientists, the What Do We Know and What Should We Do About...? series offers concise, up-to-date overviews of issues often oversimplified, misrepresented or misunderstood and shows you how to enact change.
"Short, sharp and compelling." - Alex Preston, The Observer
"If you want to learn a lot about what matters most, in as short a time as possible, this is the series for you."- Danny Dorling, 1971 Professor of Geography, University of Oxford
List of contents
1. Introduction
2. What Do We Know About Work?
3. What Do We Know About the Future of Work?
4. What Should We Do About the Future of Work?
5. Conclusion
About the author
Melanie Simms, Professor of Work and Employment, University of Glasgow, UK. She writes widely on the topic of work and employment with a particular interest in two main areas: how workers get to influence changes at work, and how young people move into the labour market after education.
Summary
What Do We Know and What Should We Do About The Future of Work? is part of a new book series offering short, up-to-date overviews of key issues often misrepresented or simplified in the mainstream media.
Report
Simms intelligent delve into the labour market and its economic effects is an excellent summary of why and how we work. But it also points out some unexpected truths that most people work in the same way they would have 50 years ago, for example, or that the car wash industry demonstrates automation is far from inevitable. People Management magazine
