The new episode of Eurofound Talks, published today, looks at whether AI is making work safer in Europe. The discussion takes the listener from the macro-level geopolitical considerations around AI, to how it is impacting workers on an everyday basis throughout Europe, and is essential listening for those interested in, or working on the topic.
Eurofound's new report, 'Narrowing the digital divide: Economic and social convergence in Europe’s digital transformation', warns that while Europe is making significant digital strides, vulnerable groups risk being left behind if inequalities in terms of resources and access are not addressed.
The latest Eurofound Talks podcast episode delves into the evolution of working conditions over the past three decades, as Europe stands at the precipice of an AI-driven revolution in its labour markets.
A new episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast series looks at data from the Living and working in the EU e-survey showing a decline in the number of respondents engaged in remote work, with the percentage of people working entirely from the workplace increasing from 36% in 2023, to 41% in 2024.
New technologies such as the Internet of Things, 3D printing, and virtual and augmented reality can help put greater emphasis on managerial and analytical tasks, reduce physically demanding tasks, drive the upgrading of skills and increase job discretion. However, some aspects of these technologies, particularly the Internet of Things, raise concerns that employee performance could be excessively
In the most successful businesses, managers were found to facilitate employees to work independently rather than to focus on controlling whether they carried out their tasks. Closely monitoring employee behaviour might indeed ensure that workers do their job but is unlikely to motivate them to go beyond their job description.
Continued dominance of large non-EU service and work platforms could result in an oligopolistic market situation in the EU in the future. This could hamper the market entry of new players, endangering healthy competition and economic and labour market innovation to the detriment of platform workers and consumers, as well as the broader economy.
