The ways in which new workplace technologies like artificial intelligence are affecting work and employment will be investigated by collaborative research centre, Digit.
A new research programme at the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work (known as Digit) will provide evidence to help policymakers, businesses, trade unions and communities to keep up with rapid advances in digital technologies, following a grant announced today by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
Digit is a leading international centre of excellence for research into the digitalisation of work co-led by the University of Leeds and the University of Sussex, with partners at the University of Cambridge, University of Manchester, Monash University in Australia, the Institute for the Future of Work, the Institute of Development Studies and FutureDotNow.
Through its new research programme, the Centre will develop a robust evidence base about employers’ use of digital technologies at work and its impacts on people’s working lives.
The centre has been awarded five years of funding, continuing the ESRC’s support which began in 2020. Previously known as the Digital Futures at Work Centre, it has been renamed the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work to reflect the £8.3m investment.
Previous research by Digit has explored employers’ digital practices at work and the Leeds Index of Platform Labour Protest, as well as other areas such as digital barriers for disabled people, and how AI might shape the future of HR, to name but a few.
Professor Mark Stuart, Digit Co-Director and Pro Dean of Research and Innovation at Leeds University Business School, said: “Through its new research programme, the Centre will develop a robust evidence base about employers’ use of digital technologies at work and its impacts on people’s working lives. Tracking adoption and investment in AI and other new technologies through the representative Employers’ Digital Practices at Work Survey will provide policymakers, business leaders and trade unions with essential insights about what is actually happening in the digital transformation of work.”
The new research programme will focus on five research themes:
- Digital ecosystem governance: How can key actors shape the evolution of an inclusive, healthy, and sustainable digital work ecosystem in the UK?
- Digital decisions and adopters: Why do firms adopt, or not, new digital technologies and what are the consequences for employment?
- Skills and rewards: What can be done to reduce the polarisation of skills, increase levels of digital literacy, and improve rewards at work?
- Healthy working lives: How does digitalisation affect a healthy work-life balance and access to work?
- Location and environment: How will digitalisation impact the location of jobs, regional development, and the environment?
Digit’s collaborative programme will also bring businesses and communities to the heart of the project through CoLabs, which will encourage individuals to contribute to the research design using their valuable lived experience.
An innovative and inclusive programme of training and support for Mid and Early Career Researchers will develop the research leaders of the future.
Professor Jacqueline O'Reilly, Digit Co-Director and Professor of Comparative Human Resource Management at the University of Sussex Business School, said: “Digital technologies are profoundly restructuring work, but the consequences are still uncertain. We know that employers' investment in digital technologies is poor and polarised; inequalities in skills and rewards are increasing; access to healthy working lives is unequal; and regional inequalities persist. The challenge is to successfully navigate this transition, building an inclusive digital work ecosystem, that supports improved economic performance, well-being, and job quality.”
ESRC Executive Chair Stian Westlake said: “Our centres are at the forefront of ground-breaking social science research, pushing the boundaries of knowledge and making a real difference. By supporting these centres, ESRC ensures long-term investment in crucial areas while giving researchers the freedom to explore and innovate.”
Further information
For more information, please contact Mia Saunders in the University of Leeds press office via m.saunders@leeds.ac.uk.