Future of work: a systematic literature review and evolution of themes

Abstract

Purpose Concerned with the rising social, economic and technological disruption in the world, the impact of the technological disruption had a significant impact on the future of work and it has been tremendously increased in past five years. Further, with the rising uncertainties and COVID-19 in the picture, the trends suggested by earlier literature might not hold. The purpose of this paper is to understand the evolution of technology in the workplace in the past five years, how does it stand during COVID-19, will the trend continue in light of disruption caused by COVID-19, the impact of COVID-19 on the future of work. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses bibliometric techniques to identify the conceptual and intellectual structure of the studies. The programming language named after authors Robert and Ross (R) software and Biblioshiny were used to identify the structures and the themes underlying those structures, which further helped in forecasting the trends of the studies. Findings The paper shows the drastic evolution of the studies in past few years and different technologies implemented at the workplace in the same period. It further identified the influential papers, authors, journals in the area with an emphasis on the various collaboration network among authors and countries. It also paints a picture of the impact of COVID-19 on the future of work. The paper finally concluded with future directions for the emerging trends and themes in the area in aftermath of COVID-19. Originality/value This paper takes the microscopic view of the studies carried out in the past five years as during the past five years, the studies related to this topic have grown tremendously and accordingly many trends have been identified but with the COVID-19 pandemic in the picture, the trend is likely to get accelerated. This paper takes this view and identifies the trends in the future by identifying the themes based on periods and at different levels – organizational, managerial, individual.

Toward Realignment: Big Tech, Organized Labor, and the Politics of the Future of Work

“…With the assault on worker institutions and welfare states that spread during a global economic downturn, elites eroded popular forms of sovereignty that they deemed interfered with market efficiency. The repression of labor and concomitant restructuring of production formed the backdrop against which mainstream economists, consulting firms, and ideologues of capital muted the role of collective agency in nascent discussions of the future of work, focusing instead on the technological innovations that facilitated an ongoing dispersal of supply chains (Singh et al 2021). Despite producing some of the earliest writings on the future of work (AFL-CIO 1983, 1985), organized labor was steadily excised as a stakeholder in corporate governance, a maneuver that was made explicit in the 1997 annual statement of the Business Roundtable (Kochan 2020).…”

“…This alliance did not endure. As a profitability crisis in the global manufacturing sector spread throughout the wider economy in the 1970s, state managers accelerated the ongoing process of financialization in the U.S., and in turn, the Democratic Party deprioritized industry and in its place nurtured the growth of finance and tech as a foundation for recomposing its elite base (Van Deventer 2020; Ferguson and Rogers 1986; Vgontzas and Whittaker 2021). As capital intensified its assault on industrial unions, forcing them into concessionary bargaining in their strongholds while outsourcing production to nonunion sites in the U.S. and Global South, the U.S. labor movement saw itself renewed largely through organizing efforts in the “new economy” (Fantasia and Voss 2004).…”

Operationalizing the Future of Work to Measure Job Susceptibility

“…They argue that the HR function is critical in ensuring that the right knowledge and skills are acquired to drive the future work state. While Singh et al's. (2021) systematic literature review produced more specific recommendations on how to address the challenges associated with the FoW, Santana and Cobo (2020) revealed a very definitive set of themes surrounding the FoW.…”

“…(2021) systematic literature review produced more specific recommendations on how to address the challenges associated with the FoW, Santana and Cobo (2020) revealed a very definitive set of themes surrounding the FoW. All the themes identified by Singh et al (2021) were also present in Santana and Cobo's model. Therefore, this study applies Santana and Cobo's (2020) model to operationalize the FoW by creating a model for measuring their identified themes to better understand their influence on the future of jobs in specific sectors.…”

“…Workers are also facing the threat of displacement by systems that can do their jobs more efficiently and effectively. Researchers agree that there are competencies that must be acquired by workers in order to adapt to the changing nature of work (Balliester & Elsheikhi, 2018;Santana & Cobo, 2020;Singh et al, 2021). Gruen (2017) states that educational policies need to be responsive to the dynamic needs of the job market and educational institutions need to focus on 21st century skills that will be relevant in today's job market.…”