About us

• Changing World of Work:
  Digitalization, globalization, and demographic change

We examine changes in working conditions, forms of employment, and employment opportunities that are induced by fundamental processes of change, such as digitalization, globalization and demographic change. This area focuses on the implications of these transformations for occupational skill profiles. It explores effective human resource management tools enabling employers to recruit, retain, organize and motivate their workforce amidst the changing world of work.

• Workers of the Future:
  People in the changing world of work

We investigate how people fare in the changing world of work. The area studies how workers adapt to structural transformations, and how they acquire the skills and abilities that will be essential in the future. It also considers personal values that might make workers more discerning about their jobs and their employers, such as the pursuit of work-life balance. This area explores ways to secure a skilled workforce for the future.

• Sustainable Labor Policies:
  Shaping the labor markets of the future and their institutions

We provide insight for shaping the labor markets of the future and their institutions. This area is concerned with regulatory frameworks and conditions that serve the balancing of interests of employers and employees, and avoid unemployment. It explores how to organize worker protection as boundaries of firms and national labor markets increasingly vanish. We evaluate instruments for the social protection of workers, focusing on those who need special support to cope with the changing world of work.

• Work and Social Cohesion:
  Inequality and social mobility

We analyze the impact of the changing world of work on the distributions of wages, income, and wealth. We also examine consequences for social mobility and uncover pathways to greater equality to foster social cohesion. This area studies mechanisms of social mobility and the consequences of existing inequalities. It assesses interventions that aim at equal opportunity and access to the labor market, or at counteracting the polarization of the workforce.