Non Standard Work In The Nordics

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2021-503/ Most Nordic labour market and welfare state models are shaped around the notion of the standard full-time open-ended contract. However, the recent development in non-standard work (NSW) may challenge these institutions. In this TemaNord report, we analyse the recent development of NSW within the context of the Nordic models. We draw on Nordic Labour Force Survey data to map the recent development in the well-known forms of NSW, and through in-depth case studies, we explore emerging NSW practices and policy responses. There has been a fairly stable development in NSW across the Nordics, but the sector specific statistics and case studies display significant changes beneath this still surface. We find examples of novel policy responses to these developments, but the corona crisis also revealed gaps in the Nordic social- and employment protection regarding emerging forms of NSW.

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2021-520/ Major changes in technology, economic contexts, workforces and the institutions of work have ebbed and flowed since well before the first industrial revolution in the 18th century. However, many argue that the changes we are currently facing are different, and that the rise of digitalized production will entirely transform our ways and views of working. In this collaborative project, funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, researchers from the five Nordic countries have studied how the ongoing transformations of production and labour markets associated with digitalization, demographic change and new forms of employment will influence the future of work in the Nordic countries.

The Nordic future of workHow will work and working life in the Nordic countries change in the future? This is the question to be addressed in the project The Future of Work: Opportunities and Challenges for the Nordic Models. This initial report describes the main drivers and trends expected to shape the future of work. It also reviews the main distinctions of the Nordic model and recent developments in Nordic working lives, pointing towards the kind of challenges the future of work may pose to the Nordic models. Too often, debates about the future narrowly focus on changes in technology. This report draws attention to the broader drivers and political-institutional frameworks influencing working life developments, aiming to spur debate about how the interaction of changes in demography, climate, globalization and digital technologies may influence Nordic working lives in the coming decades.

Available online: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:norden:org:diva-6158 Is labour law in the Nordic countries prepared to meet future challenges, or is there a need for adjustments and renewal? These questions form the backdrop for the analysis in this report. The Nordic systems of labour law are built on a binary divide between employees and the self-employed. As a main rule, employees are protected by labour law, while self-employed are not, and the employer is responsible for complying with the legal framework. If future labour relations make it harder to assess whether a worker is an employee or self-employed, and to decide who is the employer, this might undermine the efficiency of labour law regulations. The report analyzes the adaptability of the legal framework, and points at strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, the study discusses how the identified challenges can be addressed, by suggesting avenues for legal development and reform. The report is the concluding analysis of Pillar VI in the project Future of Work: Opportunities and Challenges for the Nordic Models (NFoW), funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Gender equality in the labour market is a key topic in the Nordic cooperation on gender equality. The Nordic Council of Ministers has asked NIKK, Nordic Information on Gender, to coordinate the project Part-Time Work in the Nordic Region. The aim of the project is to shed light on and analyse part-time work in the Nordic region, develop reports and arrange conferences. During the Icelandic presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2014, the project followed up the earlier study. This second report is a research overview on the arguments used to explain part-time work and gender in the Nordic countries. Further, the report describe relevant measures taken by different actors in the labour market and the political sphere in order to reduce foremost women's part-time work. The researchers Ida Drange and Cathrine Egeland wrote the report on a request by NIKK.

Postwar employment standards are being undermined and 'non-standard' employment is becoming more common. While scholars have pointed to negative consequences of this development, this volume also discusses the evidence for a new and socially inclusive European employment standard.

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2020-540/ This report aim to go behind narratives of digitalization as a uniform force of disruption, job destruction and revolutionary change at work, and convey a nuanced picture of digitalization played out at ordinary Nordic workplaces in traditional sectors of work. The report is explorative and the findings preliminary, but the picture emerging is nevertheless sobering. Findings show how digitalization in important sectors of Nordic labour markets are marked by gradual adaptation rather than paradigmatic, disruptive change. The connection between digital technologies and the organization of work emerges as a two-way relationship where institutions and politics still matter. Our empirical observations also suggest that the actors in the Nordic model of work are able to continue to influence this relationship in ways that appear to be compatible with the modus operandi of the model.

In the runup to the ILO's 100th anniversary in 2019, the ILO asked the Nordic countries to contribute to the debate about how the future of work can be shaped. the Stockholm conference gathered more than 120 participants, and was number three out of four annual Nordic conferences. The debate was divided into four main themes: 1) How will the technological developments affect the Labour market? 2) How are the Nordic countries preparing for a more digitised and automated labour market? 3) How are companies and industries affected by the technological development? 4) How to deal with the need for skills? The programme included perspectives from all of the Nordic countries, from multinational organisations such as the OECD and the ILO, international companies such as McKinsey and Google, Nordic labour market authorities, social partners and companies undergoing changes.

For outsiders, the popularity and social sustainability of the extensive scope of Nordic welfare states, such as the strong role of the state and high levels of taxation, remains something of a mystery. Making use of recent international survey data, this important book goes some way towards solving this mystery. It underlines the remarkable success of Nordic welfare institutions which help to maintain not only low rates of poverty and inequality, but high levels of well-being, trust, social capital and political participation. Jochen Clasen, University of Edinburgh, UK Nordic welfare states have long enjoyed a leadership position in the provision of social welfare. They are now caught up in the current of thorough-going reform that is sweeping across Europe. This book uses data from the European Social Survey in fresh and innovative ways to demonstrate the resilience of Nordic models and to show how political discourses are changing across a whole range of policy areas. Peter Taylor-Gooby, University of Kent, UK This book addresses the effect that institutional settings typical to the Nordic countries have upon people s attitudes and behaviour. Placed within a European comparative perspective, the analyses presented by the contributing authors centre around issues relating to the welfare state, politics, family and work, as well as cultural concerns including economic morality and religiosity. Despite differences between the Nordic countries, the overall impression given is of a shared outlook and way of life. In the European context, the Nordic countries particularly stand out as a distinct group therefore demonstrating their institutional similarities. Providing highly rigorous and up-to-date data, with a wide coverage of topics, this book will be of great interest to academics and students in sociology, social policy and political science. It will also appeal to anyone interested in the Nordic countries in general.

This report presents a preliminary knowledge status about implications of the sharing economy for labour markets and employment relations in the Nordic countries. It also reviews how the Nordic countries and their social partners approach the sharing economy and issues relating, amongst other, to its legality, regulation, taxation, and terms of competition. There is so far scant supply of statistics, data and research in this field. The employment potentials and consequences of the sharing economy will, amongst other, depend on the governments’ and the organized actors’ responses to these challenges. Currently, all the actors seem to be in a phase of knowledge gathering and deliberation of possible policy options, cautiously avoiding taking steps that might obstruct the development of the sharing economy.