The Future of Work Podcast

How would you react to being given money on a regular basis, with no strings attached? And how might this change you, your family or the wider community? This is the question faced by the Kenyan village of Kogutu after being chosen as a location for the largest ever experiment in Universal Basic Income. Filmmakers Lauren DeFilippo and Sam Soko spent five years chronicling the dramatic impact of this experiment on the lives of these villagers to answer the question: is UBI the answer to end world poverty?

Green jobs can help tackle the climate crisis and the labour market challenges faced by young people. So what exactly are green jobs? And what can young people do to create a sustainable future for themselves?

Global crises, conflicts, socio-economic inequalities, migration and the climate emergency are increasing the risk of human trafficking. What can be done, and by whom, to counter this threat?

The world of work has always been shaped by technology, but the new generation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has raised fears that it could destroy tens of millions of jobs, and undermine progress towards decent work and greater social justice.

The summer of 2023 is recording some of the highest temperature on record, for our entire planet. This has enormous consequences for the world of work – regulators and businesses as well as workers. How can we adapt?

Following the COVID-19 pandemic many countries are re-evaluating the status, pay and conditions of their care workers. So, why are domestic workers, whose work often includes care, often being left out of this process?

International labour standards are at the heart of the ILO’s mandate and play an essential role in creating fair business competition and combatting work-related exploitation. So, how are they created?

While overt racism in the workplace may be a thing of the past, systemic racism, microaggressions and biases mean it is far from being a level playing field, say the guests of the latest Future of Work podcast.

The latest Future of Work podcast explores the challenges and opportunities of using Artificial Intelligence during the recruitment process.

Artificial intelligence, or AI, isn’t a tool for the future, it’s already here, creating, destroying and re-shaping jobs and business practices. So how will AI really affect the world of work?

The collapse of the Rana Plaza building in the outskirts of Dhaka on 24 April 2013 resulted in the deaths of over 1,100 people – mostly garment workers – and shone a global spotlight on workplace safety and labour rights in the Bangladesh garment industry. Ten years on, what has changed?

The COVID-19 crisis showed how much we all rely on key workers, yet it also exposed the poor working conditions they often face. How can we ensure that these essential workers are decently treated?

As workplaces transition towards a digital future, we see the gender gap perpetuating itself in the digital realm as well. On International Women’s Day, the ILO’s ‘Future of Work’ podcast explores how can digital technology be harnessed for positive change and more inclusion.

Low levels of productivity are making it more difficult for countries and regions to escape from the current mix of social and economic challenges. How can productivity be improved?

On World Day of Social Justice, the ILO’s Director-General, Gilbert F Houngbo, explains why policymakers must prioritize social justice or risk fueling poverty, inequality and social unrest, as well as undermining action against climate change.

Global labour markets are facing serious, interlinked challenges. Issues such as the growth in informality and working poverty, slowing employment growth, the effects of inflation on wages and purchasing power, come on top of longer-term structural challenges such as demographics, technology and climate change. The new ILO report, World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2023 (WESO trends), raises particular concerns about inequality and the effects of the global economic slowdown on the quality of employment. It warns that, left unaddressed, the challenges facing the world of work threaten progress towards social justice.

Working time issues have been at the heart of the ILO since its foundation in 1919. Since then the world of work has changed radically, but ideas about how, where and when work is performed have remained largely the same, notably the long-held assumption of a link between longer hours and greater productivity. A new ILO report on working time and work-life balance has taken a fresh look at the issue, and found that the number of hours worked – whether too many or too few – as well as the schedule under which they are worked can have a significant effect on the health and wellbeing of individuals, their families and societies overall. It dissects the relationship between productivity, working hours and work schedules, and analyses the lessons about flexible working and work-life balance revealed by the COVID-19 crisis.

Migration gives workers in South-East Asia with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expression (SOGIE) the opportunity to seek a better quality of life. However, according to a recent UN study 'A very beautiful but heavy jacket: The experiences of migrant workers with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression in South-East Asia' they experience discrimination at multiple levels. Emily Dwyer, Co-Director of Edge Effect joins us to talk about the complexity of migrant work experiences for people with diverse SOGIE and why it’s important to support them.

As we transition to a greener economy, how do we ensure that workers are not left behind? What actions need to be taken to achieve a just transition? COP27, the UN’s annual climate change summit, has just wound up in Egypt. The ILO hosted over 40 events there at a Just Transition pavilion, looking at climate change issues related to the world of work. It included the launching of an ILO just transition finance tool on banking and investment. Moustapha Kamal Gueye headed up the ILO delegation to COP27. Just back from Egypt, he discusses the issues at stake on the Future of Work podcast.

In the run up to the FIFA World Cup, the eyes of the world are on Qatar, the first Middle East country to host the global football tournament. Yet much of the scrutiny is directed not at the event’s sporting aspects, but rather at the labour rights and working conditions of the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who are involved in readying the infrastructure and services needed to host one of the world’s biggest sporting events. The ILO has been closely involved in supporting a wide range of labour reforms in the country, through a technical cooperation programme with the State of Qatar which began in 2018. The programme has seen Qatar undertake comprehensive labour reforms to improve the conditions and rights of migrant workers, through adopting new legislation, introducing new or improved existing labour administration systems, and enhancing labour relations. While this is still a work in progress, and there are gaps in implementation, the reforms have already yielded benefits for workers, employers and the economy more broadly. Max Tuñón, head of the ILO Office in Doha and Chief Technical Adviser of the programme, joins us to discuss the labour reforms in Qatar.

The career of a professional dancer appears glamorous, but it is also precarious. Dancers begin training intensively when young, when others are focused on studying to get qualifications. Then their professional performance careers are short, even assuming they aren't ended early by accident or injury. So, what happens to dancers when they stop performing? What’s it like to have a career that relies heavily on the physical ability of youth, and how easy is it to build a second one? Jennifer Curry, Executive Director of Dancers' Career Development, and William Bracewell, Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet Company, join us to describe the hurdles and opportunities of a career that can end so soon after it starts.

Research by the ILO and the WHO has found that billions of working days – and so billions of dollars - are lost every year because of work-related mental health issues, and they have called for concrete measures to address this growing problem. What are the psychosocial risks associated with modern workplaces, and can we make mentally healthy workplaces the new norm.

Sophie Otiende, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, and Grace Forrest, Founding Director of Walk Free, join the ILO's Future of Work podcast to explore the many reasons for the continued existence of modern slavery and the role we can all play in finally putting an end to it.

August 23 is the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. Slavery is a clear human rights violation that has no place in the modern world! Yet, there are more people in slavery today than at any other time in history. More than 40.3 million people are still in modern slavery, including 24.9 million in forced labour. It means 5.4 victims of modern slavery for every 1,000 people in the world. 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children. That social injustice is at the heart of Wagner Moura’s commitment and activism to put an end to forced labour and child labour. The award-winning actor and ILO Goodwill Ambassador (50 for Freedom campaign) grew up in a very poor area in the northeast of Brazil. He saw first-hand the negative impacts of forced labour on a family, a community, a country. “I think that education is the foundation for any sort of social change in the world”, Wagner Moura said. Today he continues to put his time and energy to urge governments to enact and enforce legislation, protect their population, and end slavery in our lifetime. Where does his passion for fighting slavery come from?

From archaeological and heritage sites to conservation parks, and music and cultural festivals, Ethiopia boasts a wide array of tourist attractions. However it lost 70 per cent of tourism revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with massive job losses – a situation that was worsened by the outbreak of war in the north of the country. As part of our August Voices tourism series, we’re talking to Tewodros Derbew, strategic team leader and coordinator at the Ministry of Tourism in Ethiopia. He explains the challenges facing the sector, how the country is planning to re-position itself as a major destination through sustainable tourism, and what it means for the world of work.

When Lizzie Pickering's young son Harry died in 2000, she embarked on a journey to understand grief, how to live with it and how to help other people when their life has changed. In this podcast she shares the lessons she's learned from her own experiences and those of others. We will discuss how to adapt to change and continue to work after losses, not only in the event of death, but also in the case of a medical condition, divorce, and a change of job. Is loss only a personal matter or should it be also touched upon at work? What can employers and colleagues do to support people when they are stressed or depressed? Often others want to help but don't know how to deal with strong emotions, leaving those who are suffering to feel alone and frustrated. Are there any guidelines for coping with grief in the workplace? What is the impact of a workplace that handles grief well, as opposed to a workplace that doesn't?

These are uncertain times. Inflation has returned. A post-COVID recovery is under threat. These problems will need innovative solutions. One option attracting attention is the social and solidarity economy, which will be the subject of a discussion at this year’s International Labour Conference. The Social and Solidarity economy is sometimes described as a third sector; neither private or public sector enterprises, but an approach in which economic activities and projects are founded on the principle of solidarity. One of the better-known forms of social and solidarity economy activity is the cooperative. These are enterprises that are owned, governed, and run by their members. What are the challenges that cooperatives face in order to operate well? How can cooperatives contribute to building resilient economies?

Does it matter if people are happy at work? Or should they just be satisfied with reasonable pay and conditions and not expect more? It’s well-established that happiness is linked to better health and longevity, but an increasing amount of scientific research has found ties with work-related matters like productivity, innovation and staff retention. So, should employers pay attention to staff happiness, and if so, how can they build it?

Each year, discrimination at work around gender identity, ethnicity, disability, race, religion or sexual orientation cost millions of dollars to our national economies and companies. Worse, one-in-four people do not feel valued at work and those who do feel included are in more senior roles, according to a new report on diversity and inclusion by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Today, diversity and inclusion have become new buzzwords in the global agenda. Yet, despite some progress, a lot remains to be done to embed diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the employee lifecycle and drive productivity, profitability, and innovation in businesses. At the same time, the COVID-19 crisis has also demonstrated that inclusion and diversity matter more than ever. Therefore, embracing it as a core value is a must for a sustainable future of work. But what can be done to make this ideal a reality for millions of workers and employers worldwide?

Effective and comprehensive care systems not only support fundamental rights and human dignity, they also help people maximise their potential and their contribution to economies and societies. However, gaps in care systems – which were exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic – can undermine gender equality and make it more difficult for those with disabilities to find work, so removing talent and skills from the workforce. A new ILO report on care at work analyses the current state of care services in 185 countries and makes a strong case for increasing investment in the sector.

More than 60 per cent of the world’s adult labour force, or about 2 billion workers, work in the informal economy. They are not recognized, registered, regulated or protected under labour legislation and social protection. The consequences can be severe, for individuals, families as well as economies. Despite major efforts over the years, there are few signs of the informal economy shrinking in size. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed more workers into informal work to survive while highlighting the vital role access to social protection plays to support workers, especially when they are unable to work. Just what is life like for workers in the informal economy? What are the global solutions to intransigent informality and will the growth of the ‘gig’ economy help informal economy workers gain the security and social protection they so badly need?

There is an enormous demand for scientific skills in the world of work. But if not enough women are inspired and encouraged to study science, they risk missing out on the jobs of the future and scientific professions risks losing the perspectives and experiences that women bring to the table. On International Day of Women and Girls in Science we explore why the world needs science, and science needs women and girls. Dr. Natasha Hurley-Walker, award-winning radio astronomer, explains how science is a key part to navigating the complexity of the world that we're in and what can be done to close the gender gap in this field.

The pandemic accelerated the digitalization of small businesses, which had to adapt very quickly to the new circumstances. But going digital goes beyond the purely technological aspect. It is about changing the whole way a company operates, in a transition that can affect its finances and its employees. Dr Sandy Chong, who specializes in helping companies to go digital, explains how they are coping with these challenges.

Traditionally the menopause has been an almost invisible issue, regarded as a medical or personal matter for women and their families only. But women of menopausal age now account for 11% of the G7 workforce alone, and the number affected will rise globally, as populations age. Recent research has shown that the effects of the menopause are far more extensive than previously understood, including anxiety, depression, ‘brain fog’, insomnia, exhaustion and heart palpitations. In the UK alone, more than 900,000 women are estimated to have left the workforce early because of the menopause - at an age when their talent, skills and experience are most valuable - with knock-on consequences for gender pay and pensions gaps and workplace productivity. One study has estimated global menopause-related productivity losses at more than US$150 billion a year. A growing cohort of companies, trade unions and policymakers are re-evaluating the menopause as a business, economic and even legislative issue, one that is an integral part of the world of work. So, how should the menopause be handled in the workplace?

Research has found that the COVID-19 crisis has made many existing world-of-work inequalities worse and exposed new ones. A particularly significant trend is the growth in wage and income inequality, because this fuels other forms of inequality. What’s more, the consequences of growing wage inequality go beyond those directly affected, rippling through all socio-economic levels and hampering economic recovery and growth. Patrick Belser, ILO senior economist and wage specialist explains the causes of income and wage inequality, the links with economic growth, and some of the strategies that can counter the damage.

Every year, on 15 October, the world celebrates the International Day of Rural Women, recognizing the critical role played by women in rural areas. This year the International Day recognizes their contribution in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty. “Women don’t want charity, they want to be helped and empowered,” says Reema Nanavaty, former General Secretary of the Self Employed Women's Association, in India, in a conversation with Elisenda Estruch Puertas, rural economy specialist at the ILO.

What has been the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on women or migrant workers? Have we taken a step back on the progress made in recent years in terms of inclusion? What is the ILO doing about it? Can remote work help people with disabilities? Are algorithms more biased than humans?

Digital labour platforms can transform how young refugees make a living. But the unequal spread of internet connectivity, inequalities in digital skills and the specific obstacles that many refugee population face daily make it difficult to apply for these jobs. Andreas Hackl, Lecturer in social anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, and author of the ILO report Towards decent work for young refugees and host communities in the platform economy in Africa: Kenya, Uganda, Egypt and Drew Gardiner, Youth employment specialist at the ILO, explain how coordinate action is needed to ensure young refugees can access gig economy jobs and that these jobs are decent.  

About 10 per cent of people are left handed, yet the world of work is overwhelmingly set up for right-handers. There are also numerous examples – historical and contemporary - of discrimination and stigma in relation to left-handed people. International Left-handers Day, on August 13, aims to counter some of these disadvantages and draw attention to the strengths of the world’s left-handed workers and the problems they face.

Convention No. 189 defines domestic work as work performed in or for a household or households, within an employment relationship and on an occupational basis. While progress has been made in legal coverage of domestic workers, these legal rights have not yet become a reality for most domestic workers across the globe. There remain significant decent work deficits in the areas of working time, wages and social security. South African domestic worker Florence Sosiba shares her experience representing the rights of domestic workers in her country.

It is widely agreed that we need to improve diversity in the workplace and research shows that diverse workplaces are more motivated, more innovative, and more profitable. But, too often, diversity recruitment and inclusion initiatives ignore neurodiversity. It’s estimated that 1-in-6 people have some sort of neuro-minority status, such as Aspergers, ADHD or Dyslexia. Yet unemployment rates for neuro-minority people are far higher than for others - up to 80 per cent. Dr Nancy Doyle, CEO of Genius Within and Co-Director of the Centre for Neurodiversity at Work, Birkbeck College, University of London, and Neil Barnett, Director of Inclusive Hiring and Accessibility at Microsoft, discuss the reasons for this and why getting different ways of thinking into a workforce can create advantage.

Safety and Health in the workplace has been massively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As we mark World Day for Safety and Health and Work, Manal Azzi, Senior Occupational Safety and Health Specialist at the ILO, joins us to discuss the vital role that safe workplaces play for crisis recovery and prevention. Drawing on lessons learned from dealing with the pandemic, she lays out some of the strategies outlined in a new ILO report on how to strengthen national occupational safety and health systems to build resilience, in order to face crises now and in the future.

For Sub-Saharan African countries the challenges of climate change come alongside more long-standing development issues. However, the shift to a greener economy also offers commercial opportunities, with the potential to create employment and boost access to core services. Zimbabwean green entrepreneurs, Elizabeth Nyamuda, founder of Tamba Washables, and Luke Makarichi, founder of GreenTEC, share their experiences of launching and running their green businesses.

The growth of digital labour platforms is presenting opportunities and challenges for workers and businesses around the world. Uma Rani, Senior Economist at the ILO and author of the World Employment and Social Outlook report 2021, explains the need for dialogue and regulatory cooperation in order to provide decent work opportunities in the sector. She is joined by several platform workers who share their experiences and hopes for the future of their work.

Technology will be one of the key drivers shaping the future of work, but will it encourage decent work and social justice or fuel inequality and insecure work? Allen Blue, Co-Founder of LinkedIn and Vice President of Product Management explains how he sees technology bringing the public and private sectors together, to spread skills and opportunities and create the foundations for a greener and more equitable future.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a sudden explosion in the number of people who telework, even in jobs that no one would have imagined it possible to do. Jon Messenger, a Senior Research Officer at the International Labour Organization in Geneva, Switzerland has been studying how telework has evolved in the last 20 years and talks about its present and future in the world of work.