Press Release / 04.05.2022
4th of May, 2022 – Today we launch the “Trends Shaping the Future of Work” report, under the WorkTransitionCEE project umbrella. The report explores the available pathways to progress and how the CEE countries can become the frontrunners of the digital transformation for the benefit of employers and employees alike.
How much automation and digitization will change our jobs in the coming years, what skills we need to develop to keep up with a constantly changing world of work, or how flexible and ‘green’ employers need to be to attract the best employees, are some of the trends analysed in the report.
In Romania, up to 54% of the working time is allocated to tasks that could be automated. In Hungary, the share is 49%, and in Slovakia between 48% to 53%. 40% of Romanians with higher education live abroad. Between 50 to 70% of those leaving Hungary are young people with a higher education, between 20 and 39 years old, and every 10th graduates leave Slovakia. How will the perception of where and how we work can change for companies and employees alike? Are robots enough to fill the gap or are we looking East for additional workforce? Will age, gender, or country of birth still count in the future as employment criteria?
More than ever, the new directions of development on digitalisation and the green economy are blurring the lines between work and personal life, between work and learning, between employee status and entrepreneurship. Which brings many opportunities, but also challenges in a socio-political construction whose architecture still reflects patterns from the period of the industrial revolution.
The purpose of the “Trends Shaping the Future of Work” report is to spark conversations and generate ideas on how we can ensure that Central and Eastern Europe remain competitive through adaptation and experimentation. How do we build a new balanced architecture? Where do we start from? These are just a few questions that remain after reading this report.
We have reasons to be optimistic about the future, a future that combines work and life, technology and human interaction, the economy and society, but positive scenarios in which all these elements find a balance can only be possible through strong collaboration and social dialogue.
This report is developed under the umbrella of WorkTransitionCEE – a project co-financed by the European Union that brings together six representative social partners from Romania, Hungary and Slovakia (employers and employee’s representatives alike) to better understand the Industry 4.0 risks, challenges and opportunities for job transition in Central and Eastern Europe.
