Digitalisation of the economy and its impact on labour markets —

<strong>Digitalisation</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>economy</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>its</strong> <strong>impact</strong> on labour markets
2. The digital <strong>economy</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> labour
market
In discussions <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> digital <strong>economy</strong> a distinction is generally made between
traditional firms that seek – with a greater or lesser degree <strong>of</strong> success – to adapt
to <strong>the</strong> new technologies (teleworking, mobile working, community buildings)
<strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> ‘digital natives’ which are firms that came into existence with <strong>and</strong> as a
result <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> new technologies <strong>and</strong> are characterised by a fundamentally
different form <strong>of</strong> work organisation that is ‘more agile, structured in project
mode, more open on to an ecosystem, <strong>and</strong> much more efficient, in particular
with regard to <strong>the</strong> spread <strong>of</strong> innovation: open space, co-working sites, etc.
(Mettling 2015: 8). This ‘agility’ relates to workplace, to working hours, <strong>and</strong>
also to <strong>the</strong> relationship <strong>of</strong> subordination between employer <strong>and</strong> employee. As
will become apparent, <strong>the</strong> ‘agility’ in question is not necessarily or exclusively
synonymous with greater freedom for <strong>the</strong> employee.
This has an <strong>impact</strong> on management, as well as on <strong>the</strong> new forms <strong>of</strong> nonsalaried
work, i.e. <strong>the</strong> self-employed <strong>and</strong> freelance workers whose numbers are
steadily increasing in <strong>the</strong> United States, <strong>the</strong> Ne<strong>the</strong>rl<strong>and</strong>s, Germany, France,
<strong>and</strong> elsewhere.
If – as was reaffirmed by <strong>the</strong> ETUC Congress in 2015 – <strong>the</strong> notion <strong>of</strong> quality
employment includes a decent wage, occupational health <strong>and</strong> safety provision,
acceptable working conditions, opportunities for training <strong>and</strong> promotion; <strong>and</strong>
if a full-time <strong>and</strong> open-ended contract ‘for all’ is to remain <strong>the</strong> norm, <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong>
<strong>impact</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> digital revolution on labour markets triggers numerous concerns.
2.1 What will be <strong>the</strong> overall <strong>impact</strong> on <strong>the</strong> <strong>economy</strong>
<strong>and</strong> labour markets?
While all studies point out that this ‘revolution’ will entail a major <strong>impact</strong> on
<strong>the</strong> labour market, <strong>the</strong>y also stress that this <strong>impact</strong> will be differentiated
according to sector <strong>and</strong> that <strong>the</strong> emerging new jobs will take many forms (see
2.2 below). It is accordingly very difficult to effect any precise measurement <strong>of</strong>
specific future consequences over all occupations, all jobs, all sectors.
A general overview <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> various areas <strong>of</strong> <strong>impact</strong> would be as follows:
— job creation: new sectors, new products, new services;
— job change: digitalisation, human/intelligent machine interface, new
forms <strong>of</strong> management;
WP 2016.02
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