Perspectives on the future in the sociology of work

Perspectives on the future in the sociology of work

Professor Duncan Gallie

The current concern with a new digital transformation has once more placed the future of work at the centre of the public and research agendas. As sociologists of work seek to grapple with its potential implications, it is perhaps salutary to consider the fate of their earlier attempts to forecast the future.

This talk, from Professor Duncan Gallie, examines the empirical success of the major theoretical forecasts of the early postwar period and their successors in the 1990s. The last seven decades of research should make us careful about ready predictions of the direction of social change, attentive to the dangers of extrapolating from ‘cutting-edge’ developments, and aware of the complexity of trends and the factors that can moderate them.

About the speaker

Duncan Gallie CBE FBA is Emeritus Fellow and Professor of Sociology, Nuffield College, Oxford. His research focuses on comparative European analysis of the quality of employment –in particular with respect to skill development, job insecurity, and participation at work.

About Digit Debates

This Autumn webinar series from the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre presents cutting-edge research from leading thinkers about how digital technologies are changing work.

Our aim is to spark debate, challenge assumptions and become an essential resource for anyone who wants to understand how new technologies will impact employers, employees, job seekers and governments.

Join us on Wednesdays, 1-2pm (GMT)online, from 4th November – 9th December.

Click here for more information on other events in the series.

About Digit

Digit, the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre aims to advance our understanding of how digital technologies are reshaping work, impacting on employers, employees, job seekers and governments. It is co-led by the University of Sussex Business School and Leeds University Business School with partners from Aberdeen, Cambridge, Manchester and Monash Universities. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).