[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/7429\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EWhy automation and flexible jobs could lead to more meaningful work \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDriven by technological innovations, the so-called fourth industrial revolution of the past decade is changing the workplace. Thanks to digital technologies, jobs are becoming more flexible, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu\/foresight\/topic\/changing-nature-work\/self-employment-rises-women-are-more-solopreneurs-then-men_en\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ewith self-employment on the rise.\u003C\/a\u003E New technologies are being adopted at an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/digital-single-market\/en\/fourth-industrial-revolution\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eexponential pace\u003C\/a\u003E, much faster than in previous waves of innovation, with technologies like artificial intelligence able to perform complex tasks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMachines currently handle a third of all work tasks worldwide but that could increase to \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www3.weforum.org\/docs\/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ehalf by 2025\u003C\/a\u003E, according to \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www3.weforum.org\/docs\/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ea World Economic Forum\u003C\/a\u003E report, published in October.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Over the past decades, we thought that only routine tasks could be automated,\u2019 said Dr Melline Somers, a postdoctoral researcher at the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. \u2018I think the technological innovations that are taking place now will definitely be able to replace human beings in different types of tasks.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAutomation is often seen as a threat, but researchers are finding that is not necessarily the case.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Somers and her colleagues \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/technequality-project.eu\/files\/d11fdsurveyonautomationriskv20pdf\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Esurveyed business owners and human resource managers\u003C\/a\u003E in eight European countries, to assess the risks caused by automation for different job roles, as part of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/822330\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ETECHNEQUALITY\u003C\/a\u003E project. They found that new technologies typically complemented a worker\u2019s skills rather than replacing them completely.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHealth professionals, for example, now have access to more data about their patients which can help them make better decisions about treatments. \u2018There will be a shift in the type of tasks that people perform but people will remain important,\u2019 said Dr Somers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@alignelft@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Dr Somers and her colleagues found that new technologies typically complemented a worker\u2019s skills rather than replacing them completely. Image credit - Melline Somers\u0022 data-entity-type data-entity-uuid height=\u0022720\u0022 src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/IMCEUpload\/win_20210611_09_22_41_pro_2.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Dr Somers and her colleagues found that new technologies typically complemented a worker\u2019s skills rather than replacing them completely. Image credit - Melline Somers\u0022 width=\u00221280\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EDr Somers and her colleagues found that new technologies typically complemented a worker\u2019s skills rather than replacing them completely. Image credit - Melline Somers\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHumanisation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Judith Dada, a general partner at La Famiglia VC, a seed stage venture capital fund that invests in business-to-business technology start-ups in areas such as logistics and finance, based in Berlin, Germany, automation is driving the humanisation of work. She thinks using technology to perform repetitive tasks empowers humans by allowing them to focus on what is meaningful and creative work. \u2018That\u0027s becoming front and centre,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDada says that a company they invested in, called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/backhq.com\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EBack\u003C\/a\u003E, illustrates this trend. It created a platform for employees working in human resources that automates routine tasks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother big change is that work is becoming much more flexible.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022\/horizon-magazine\/teleworking-here-stay-heres-what-it-means-future-work\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EAs remote working becomes more prevalent\u003C\/a\u003E, companies can now hire employees from anywhere in the world. Dada thinks this is good news for \u2018brain drain\u2019 since it will allow people to stay in their home towns and countries. She thinks that self-employment will also become more widespread in the future, where not being tied to a single employer or work location can allow workers to thrive by being more in charge of their schedules and deliverables.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018For a lot of folks in the younger generations, this is already a lived reality,\u2019 said Dada. \u2018They just work from co-working spaces anywhere in the world.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrent economic systems are being transformed by innovation as well. Instead of traditional, profit-driven business models, some companies are building in more long-term goals such as investing in sustainability or renewable energy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMany businesses are aiming to be part of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/news\/en\/headlines\/economy\/20151201STO05603\/circular-economy-definition-importance-and-benefits\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ecircular economy\u003C\/a\u003E, which is based on sharing, leasing, reusing and recycling products and materials to extend their lifetime for as long as possible and reduce waste. There are environmental benefits, where the production, consumption and disposal of materials and infrastructure is thought to contribute to up to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.eea.europa.eu\/themes\/climate\/cutting-greenhouse-gas-emissions-through\/cutting-greenhouse-gas-emissions-through\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Etwo thirds of greenhouse gas emissions globally\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is also driving new business models. Rumy Narayan, a researcher at the University of Vaasa in Finland, thinks that companies will increasingly provide access to products instead of selling them. In Finland, for example, companies have started renting clothes so that consumers can access good quality items, moving away from our throwaway culture where items are bought then discarded after a short time. This also drives other small, local business ventures as the clothes will need to be cleaned and repaired, for example, she says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENarayan thinks that the move away from industrial-style big companies is humanising work. It is becoming more knowledge-led, where people do a job because they are following their passion rather than doing repetitive tasks in return for a paycheck.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@alignleft@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Rumy Narayan says that thinks that companies will increasingly provide access to products instead of selling them. Image credit - Rumy Narayan\u0022 data-entity-type data-entity-uuid height=\u0022539\u0022 src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/IMCEUpload\/rumyn2021-06.png\u0022 title=\u0022Rumy Narayan says that thinks that companies will increasingly provide access to products instead of selling them. Image credit - Rumy Narayan\u0022 width=\u0022966\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003ERumy Narayan says that thinks that companies will increasingly provide access to products instead of selling them. Image credit - Rumy Narayan\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENew skills\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETechnological change, however, is having a greater impact on people with certain types of skills compared to others. Highly-skilled work, such as professional and managerial jobs, and low-skilled work, such as cleaning jobs, have experienced employment growth in the past 10 years in Europe. However, there has been \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.houseofskillsregioamsterdam.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Paper-2-The-Changing-Demand-for-Skills-in-the-Netherlands.pdf\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ea decline in occupations in the middle of the skill and wage distribution,\u003C\/a\u003E for example, those involving accounting and administrative work, due to routine tasks being automated.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Somers says that as a result, these workers often must switch occupations, seeking out lower paid work as cleaners or in service jobs at hotels, bars and restaurants, industries that have largely been unaffected by technological change so far.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAcquiring new skills will therefore become increasingly important to allow workers to access more opportunities. The question of whether governments, companies or workers themselves should be responsible for reskilling needs to be worked out. In the Netherlands, the government is looking at introducing a new \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/humaninprogress.com\/stap-budget\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Epersonal development allowance\u003C\/a\u003E that will cover the cost of training for job seekers who want to update their skills. However, responsibility for reskilling may also come down to who reaps the benefits. For example, a company requiring training specific to a firm would invest in that training.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAccess\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMore broadly, to ensure that future workers thrive, unequal access to work and business opportunities, due to socio-economic background, ethnicity and gender, must be addressed, according to Dada.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the start-up space, she says that the vast majority of founders shaping businesses are still white males from higher income backgrounds. In Germany, for example, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ginsep.co\/migrant-founders-in-germany\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eabout 20% of founders have a migrant background\u003C\/a\u003E, yet when it comes to start-up funding, first-generation migrant founders received an average of \u20ac1.1 million, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/deutschestartups.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Migrant-Founders-Monitor_2021_engl.pdf\u0022\u003Eless than half\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;of the \u20ac2.6 million average.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOnly \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/femalefoundersmonitor.de\/en\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E15.7% of start-ups have a female founder\u003C\/a\u003E, where women tend to be dominant in a few sectors such as health and education. At the same time, women-led start-up teams are less likely to receive large amounts of funding, where \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/femalefoundersmonitor.de\/en\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eabout 5% have received \u20ac1 million or more compared to almost 28% for new male-founded businesses\u003C\/a\u003E. \u2018Unfortunately, it\u2019s not an equitable space right now,\u2019 said Dada.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMore research is needed to figure out why migrant founders are at a disadvantage, says Dada. Bias could play a part, along with lack of access to the same networks of people or administrative hurdles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@alignleft@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022More research is needed to find out why migrant founders are at a disadvantage when it comes to start-up funding, says Judith Dada. Image credit - La Famiglia VC\u0022 data-entity-type data-entity-uuid height=\u0022553\u0022 src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/IMCEUpload\/judith_dada_0.jpeg\u0022 title=\u0022More research is needed to find out why migrant founders are at a disadvantage when it comes to start-up funding, says Judith Dada. Image credit - La Famiglia VC\u0022 width=\u0022983\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EMore research is needed to find out why migrant founders are at a disadvantage when it comes to start-up funding, says Judith Dada. Image credit - La Famiglia VC\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn terms of women accessing equal opportunities, she says that there are initiatives to encourage venture capital funds to talk to more women founders. And special programmes have been created to help women access the right networks of people, which is a problem that has been identified. But ultimately, she thinks that women still face a lot of bias when it comes to the types of careers they should pursue. \u2018It all ties back to what\u0027s our image of women in the 21st century and what can we all do to help change that,\u2019 said Dada.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen it comes to jobs, more equitable models should also involve older workers and people with child rearing responsibilities, according to Dada. Future models could include job sharing between generations to retain workers with different needs. The percentage of people over \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu\/foresight\/topic\/changing-nature-work\/developments-forecasts-changing-nature-work_en\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E65 years old\u003C\/a\u003E is set to increase in all European countries and many want to continue working in some capacity. At the same time, although the gender gap in the workforce has been narrowing, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu\/foresight\/topic\/changing-nature-work\/developments-forecasts-changing-nature-work_en\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ethe participation of women is still about 25% lower than for men globally\u003C\/a\u003E. Women still are largely responsible for child rearing, which can impact their willingness to work full time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDada thinks that job sharing between these two groups could be the way forward. A young mother returning from maternity leave, for example, could share a role with an experienced manager in her 70s wanting to reduce her work hours. \u2018There are all these opportunities in terms of accessibility for different groups,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018There will be a shift in the type of tasks that people perform but people will remain important.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Melline Somers, Maastricht University, the Netherlands\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESocial protection\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUltimately, as more employees move away from full-time permanent contracts, better social protection may be needed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDada thinks that visa systems for foreign workers are often outdated, for example. In Germany\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.germany-visa.org\/freelance-visa\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E, only certain occupations qualify for a freelance visa\u003C\/a\u003E where a visa is typically tied to a specific employer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf that employer does not offer a competitive work environment, then it\u0027s quite difficult for\u0026nbsp;the worker\u0026nbsp;to be able to take up another job, says Dada. \u2018All of these processes are just not set up for the world that we\u0027re running into, which is very flexible.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOver time, Dada expects that self-employment will become more institutionalised while traditional employment will become less rigid, where both systems will adapt to one another. She thinks that companies will start offering flexible benefits as pension and health schemes to freelance workers as the fight for talent becomes more competitive.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUniversal basic income systems, where governments give every citizen a regular stipend to cover their basic needs, could help with social protection too. Experiments with this form of social welfare have shown that it can \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.vox.com\/future-perfect\/2020\/2\/19\/21112570\/universal-basic-income-ubi-map\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eboost happiness and trust in social institutions\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Somers and her colleagues are currently working on a review that brings together evidence from a range of basic income experiments to try to assess how the scheme affects the behaviour of workers. People who oppose basic income systems are afraid that most people will stop working if they receive a stipend. \u2018If labour supply decreases, then it becomes really hard to finance such a system,\u2019 said Dr Somers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENarayan is in favour of universal basic income and thinks that only a minority of people will give up working. \u2018It will allow people do what they really want to do and then we will see how creativity triumphs,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, Dr Somers thinks that new types of social protection will particularly be needed if technological change creates unemployment. At the moment, it\u2019s hard to predict whether this new wave of innovation will destroy more jobs than it creates in the foreseeable future, she says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis story is part of a\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022\/horizon-magazine\/european-science-next-generation\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003Eseries\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u0026nbsp;in which we hear from the next generation of scientists and researchers who are working to tackle global challenges.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EA panel session discussing the future of work, where Judith Dada is a panellist, will take place on 24 June as part of the European Commission\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/projects.research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu\/en\/events\/upcoming-events\/research-innovation-days\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch and Innovation Days conference\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E.\u0026nbsp;If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-nr4aw9vuo0qtwkfr722alsvoo7khwlzhm-jwnalw-i8\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-NR4AW9Vuo0qTwkFR722alSVOO7KHwLZhM_JWnAlw-I8\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]