Theos Report on Work

A new report from Theos has been published, this one exploring ‘how we can rediscover patterns of rest for human beings and for ecosystems’.

Paul Bickley and Barbara Ridpath, Just Work: Humanising the Labour Market in a Changing World (London: Theos, 2021).

Here are some paragraphs from the Theos website:

‘Currently, the world of work is facing three great disruptions: the technological (AI, machine learning, and automation), the ecological (climate change, loss of biodiversity), and anthropological (human vulnerability – seen through the pandemic, migration and declining birth rates). Any of these would see many jobs eliminated, replaced, or changed. Together they create an unpredictable environment in which work could be dehumanised – or, we could seize these disruptions as an opportunity to humanise work and working conditions.

‘As the relationship between work, time and place changes, there is a need to rediscover patterns of rest for human beings and for ecosystems.

‘We have three key proposals:

1. Paid employment is the main – but not the only – form of work… Our collective aim should be a ‘full work’ rather than ‘full employment’ economy…

2. All stakeholders need to recognise the human priority in work…

3. Dissolving boundaries between employment and leisure – exacerbated during the pandemic – have negatively affected many workers.’

A pdf of the full report is available here, and a launch blog post here.