Veronica Sheen

By Veronica Sheen

The nature of work is undergoing fundamental transformation in the twenty-first century with drivers including digitalization, automation, and new forms of work organization. This chapter explores how the concept of retirement itself is increasingly redundant in relation to the new world of work. Of course, working lives inevitably do come to an end, but for whom, and at what point, and under what personal and social financial conditions, is this end point? Many people will want, and be required by public policy, to continue their working lives well into later life. In addition, the new dynamics of work and employment unfolding may enable this later life engagement. But in the “post-work” world predicted by many scholars, will later life employment be a possibility for them, and even for many people in their middle and younger years? This chapter explores the implications of the future of work for how traditional models of working lives and retirement need to be restructured and examines the one vital reform to ensure everyone can sustain a decent life in the new highly volatile world of work.

Part of the book: Who Wants to Retire and Who Can Afford to Retire?

By Veronica Sheen

The world of work has changed dramatically over recent decades, but the unemployment rate continues to be a core measure of how well or badly an economy and its labor force are doing. This chapter examines how in the emerging labor market—the future of work—the measure of unemployment is increasingly compromised. As so much employment fails to deliver ongoing security and adequate income, unemployment of itself is not a sufficient indicator of the health of the economy and its workforce. The chapter argues that there is a need for better measures of what constitutes labor market status including security and income. To be considered, in some countries, unemployment is low, but many jobs are insecure and poorly paid. In others, it may be high, but jobs are highly protected and hard to obtain, especially for some groups such as young people or older people.

Part of the book: Unemployment - Nature, Challenges and Policy Responses [Working title]