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Unions 21
| Blog post

Are we ready for the 'Changing World of Work?'

By Becky Wright, Executive Director | 2 min

What will the shape of work look like post pandemic is a question many people have been asking. What is hybrid work, who and how will we work from home and how will these moves affect labour markets across the UK are regularly being written. The 'Future of Work' is the buzz phrase.In 2017, Unions 21 launched 'Changing World of Work', a report which identified the rise and decline of industries and working practices to help shape the union debate on membership, activity and where we should focus our resources. We are now in the future we predicted.The question I ask now, is to what extent were we right?This is an important question to ask, but also, more than this, we need to look at this work again. Not just because of the pandemic, but with the focus our discussion on the idea of the future, we risk reflecting the fact that work is changing right now. This is more than whether people are working from home because that's not the picture for everyone. This is about all the ways of working and where people will work both geographically and industrially.

This will be the focus of our new research. Moving past data and charts, we will not only explore these trends but also give voice to the often ignored reality of workers who experience these changes. We will also shine a much needed light on the key work that unions are addressing the change for the here and now as well as what may be.

This work has been made possible by our union supporters as well as a donation from the BFAWU. We are pleased to welcome their input on this work which will affect their members.

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