AI at work

Launched in 2023, over two years, the Digital Research Programme: Algorithms in the Workplace investigates the developments of digital technologies for gig work, remote work, surveillance, and algorithmic management of workers on three different research strands:

• company case studies of algorithmic management, where workers’ performance is tracked and rated
• workers’ experience in algorithmic management from surveys and focus groups
• online platforms, employment terms and algorithms.

What will be the effect of algorithmic decision-making systems and AI in the workplace? With the digital transition, the workplace has rapidly introduced digital technologies for remote work, surveillance, and algorithmic management of workers. It has already been shown that ubiquitous surveillance causes stress and anxiety among workers and decreases trust in the workplace.
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There are also emerging signs that profound shifts in workplace management accompany algorithmic decision-making systems and affect the exercise of power and workers’ rights. This is especially visible in the platform economy but is spread widely across the economy, including in more ‘traditional’ sectors. The mainstreaming of automated management systems has implications for the social partnership between workers and companies and worker representation and consultation around the EU.
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