Volume 62, Issue 4

In the foreseeable future, digitalization will most probably be the main driver of technological change. Implications can not only be expected as a result of smart automation but also across service industries. Digitalization will have various labour market impacts. They potentially refer to the level of employment, the composition of jobs, the demand for certain tasks and requirements of firms regarding skill levels. The main aim of the paper is to give a tentative answer to the question how far digitalization may induce either a worsening or an improvement of structural labour market problems. On the basis of conceptual considerations it deals with issues such as potential skill shortages, persistence of unemployment and the structure of employment forms. The result does not indicate that in the future such structural problems will easily be solved. Instead there is a need for reforms in areas such as education, training, labour market and social policies as well as social dialogue.

This article focuses on the progressive digitisation of work and its consequences for employment and social protection. The first section discusses potential dimensions of change due to technological innovation while the second part provides a preliminary assessment of the evidence that is currently available as regards occupational change and labour market polarization both with respect to total employment and the role of non-standard types of employment by occupations. Furthermore, the articles summarises what we currently know about the scope of work organized via online platforms. The subsequent section discusses potential consequences for social protection in the digital age. Particular attention is given to the eventual growth of selfemployment or freelance work using platforms as intermediaries. To the extent that work is organised more and more outside dependent employment, making the coverage of social insurance more universal, irrespective of the formal type of employment, is likely to become a crucial issue.

This study is the first to examine the social security situation of crowdworkers in Germany as well as the factors influencing the individual protection-behavior. The results are based on a quantitative survey of 248 crowdworkers in Germany. In addition, ten crowdworkers are interviewed, regarding their individual living and working conditions as well as health insurance and pension schemes. While the results for health care coverage are ambivalent, those concerning workers’ pension schemes are clear: Half of the interviewed crowdworkers are not able to build financial reserves or pension claims due to scarce financial resources and partly due to a lack of awareness for this long-term challenge.

Terms like industry 4.0 or digital health and smart homes dominate mass media as well as many scientific fields in Germany. The digital transformation captures almost any field of life and work. The article focuses on housing and health, especially independent living in old age with the aid of assistive technologies. After overviewing the general ambivalences of digitalisation, the article discusses options and implementation projects as well as future chances of governance in this field.