First-person perspectives on the world of work

The Future of Work Podcast

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.

How Can We Protect The Quality Of Jobs - The Future Of Work Podcast

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.

Working Time And Work - Life Balance - The Future Of Work Podcast

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.

Labour Migration And Diverse Gender Identities - The Future Of Work Podcast

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 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.

COP27 – What Progress For The World Of Work - 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.

What’s The Story On Labour Rights In Qatar The Future Of Work Podcast

Debido a la crisis del COVID-19 muchos han perdido su trabajo y han visto sus estudios interrumpidos. Su futuro laboral, que ya era complicado, se anuncia difícil en los próximos años.

ILO Future of Work Podcast

Podcast el futuro del trabajo: Los jóvenes son las grandes víctimas económicas de la pandemia.

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 a 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.

The Future of Work Podcast - Telework:  Wild ride or win-win?

Les programmes économiques mis en œuvre par les gouvernements doivent favoriser une relance à la fois verte et inclusive, qui doit stimuler la mise en œuvre d’actions conformes aux objectifs environnement aux mondiaux. Podcast avec Moustapha Kamal Gueye, Coordinateur du programme sur les emplois verts à l’Organisation internationale du travail (OIT)

Podcast l'avenir du travail: Le futur du travail passe par la création d’emplois verts

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 Future Of Work Podcast- Can Technology Create A More Equitable Future Of Work?

La crise du COVID nous a rappelé que plus de la moitié de la population mondiale ne bénéficie d’aucune protection sociale. C’est tout particulièrement le cas des femmes dans les pays en développement et celles qui travaillent dans l’économie informelle. Face à cette réalité, nous ne pouvons pas attendre la prochaine crise pour agir.

Podcast l'avenir du travail: Les femmes doivent avoir un accès égal à la protection sociale

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations and is devoted to promoting social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights, pursuing its founding mission that labour peace is essential to prosperity.

Today, the ILO helps advance the creation of decent work and the economic and working conditions that give working people and business people a stake in lasting peace, prosperity and progress. Its tripartite structure provides a unique platform for promoting decent work for all women and men. 

Its main aims are to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on work-related issues.

The Future of Work Podcast

International Labour Org.