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Fewer jobs, better jobs? An international comparative study of robots and ‘routine’ work in the public sector
Author(s) -
Lloyd Caroline,
Payne Jonathan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
industrial relations journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.525
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 1468-2338
pISSN - 0019-8692
DOI - 10.1111/irj.12323
Subject(s) - pace , work (physics) , task (project management) , public sector , robot , qualitative research , private sector , public relations , labour economics , business , political science , economic growth , economics , sociology , management , computer science , engineering , geography , social science , artificial intelligence , law , mechanical engineering , geodesy
Routine manual work is often considered particularly vulnerable to digitalisation. Alongside potential employment effects, jobs are expected to change in terms of task and skill requirements. This article contributes to debates on the pace of digitalisation and the impact on low‐skilled manual work through a study of transport robots in public hospitals in Norway and Scotland. Drawing on qualitative research, the findings are used to analyse the role of unions, as part of ‘country’ and ‘sector’ effects, shaping digitalisation and its outcomes.