IER Newsletter July 2026

IER Newsletter - July 2026

Prof Chris Warhurst speaks at Cedefop event promoting skills, productivity and job quality

The European Commission is keen to deliver a Quality Jobs Roadmap. Director of IER, Chris Warhurst was invited to speak at a Cedefop event in Thessaloniki in June.

Attended by European employers, trade unions and policymakers, the event focused on the skills nexus between productivity and job quality, with Chris presenting data on the link between job quality and innovation and productivity as part of building the business case for good job.

Digital platforms, decent work and developing countries

Dr. Jamelia Harris has published a new article in the journal Development in Practice. With the rise of platform work in developing countries, the paper attempts to position this trend in the decent work agenda by exploring the conditions likely to be associated with measurable decent platform work. Read MoreLink opens in a new window

The analysis uses Fairwork as a proxy for decent work and offers indicative findings that having verifiable evidence to score fair and decent work among platform companies is correlated with the level of development, regulatory quality, and having surplus labour. Findings are also suggestive of ethical relativism as the same platform is less likely to have evidence of working conditions in developing vs developed countries. From a policy standpoint, the findings reinforce previous calls for international standards to regulate platform companies, and make the case for international organisations to help capacitate local agents to effectively monitor platform work.

How the interaction of AI and algorithmic management shapes job quality outcomes

IER's Dr Sangwoo LeeLink opens in a new window published a new article titled "The Dual Face of Workplace AI: A Typology of Digital Work Configurations and Job Quality Implications in EuropeLink opens in a new window" in the journal New Technology, Work and Employment, challenging conventional narratives that technological exposure alone dictates workforce outcomes. The research maps how worker-led AI tool usage and employer-led algorithmic management interact to create deeply stratified workplace realities. The findings reveal that identical intensities of AI tool usage produce fundamentally different job quality outcomes depending on the surrounding organisational control infrastructure. Read MoreLink opens in a new window

While "Digitally Empowered" workers who use AI under low algorithmic control enjoy a 21 percentage point earnings premium relative to country medians with their autonomy intact, "Managed Augmenters" with near-identical AI usage see that wage premium halved because intensive employer surveillance allows firms to capture more of the technological surplus. Conversely, workers subjected to intensive algorithmic management without direct AI access experience severe autonomy erosion and work intensification with no compensating wage premiums at all, highlighting a regime of constraint without compensation. Even highly autonomous AI users face a distinct catch, experiencing the lowest overall working time quality due to informal, market-driven pressures to deliver rapid, AI-assisted turnarounds.

The analysis indicates that supply-side policy frameworks focusing solely on worker upskilling or expanding technology access have structural limitations. Dr Lee demonstrates that without directly regulating algorithmic monitoring and control practices, expanding AI access risks simply transitioning more workers into high-intensity, highly managed configurations rather than genuinely empowering them.

Developing an evaluation framework for large-language model careers advice

Careers advice is a critical component of UK education and work transitions, particularly for disadvantaged groups. Around 33% of students currently use Large language model (LLM) tools for guidance, but policymakers, service managers, and practitioners lack evidence on how well they perform.

A new projectLink opens in a new window, led by IER’s Peter DickinsonLink opens in a new window and funded by the Nuffield Foundation, will address this evidence gap. The project will develop and pilot a framework to evaluate LLM-powered careers advice tools against a human adviser baseline. Further education students and advisors from colleges around the UK will take part. Read MoreLink opens in a new window

The advisory group, chaired by Huw Morris, University College London, met in person at IER this month, bringing a wealth of experience from the Higher Education and Skills sector. Peter said, ‘We’re looking forward to the fieldwork phase of this work this Autumn. Thank you to those who have already expressed interest in being involved”.

For further information see the IER project pageLink opens in a new window. If you would like to get involved in the pilot please contact Stef Poole via email (Stefanie.Poole@warwick.ac.uk).

Presentation at the Development Studies Association conference

IER's Dr Jamelia Harris presented early findings from the project "Colonial legacies and the labour market in the English-speaking CaribbeanLink opens in a new window" at the Development Studies Association (DSA) Conference 2026. The conference was held in Dublin and brought together development scholars from across the globe. Read MoreLink opens in a new window

Dr. Harris' presentation highlighted the economic and labour market transitions in Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago from 1800 to today, and how these transitions have been influenced by colonial legacies versus post-independence policies, situating the analysis in debates around dependency versus developmental states theories.

New HSE advisory group on workplace psychosocial hazards and stress

In July, IER Director Chris Warhurst was invited to join a new Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Advisory Group on Psychosocial Hazard Interventions. The purpose of the group is to provide expert challenge, advice and be a sounding board for the HSE as it looks to develop policy and regulation on psychosocial hazards and work-related stress.

Orthopaedic Research UK conference: Keep Britain Working: MSK Innovation in the Workplace

Orthopaedic Research UK (ORUK) are hosting a conference to showcase breakthrough technologies, practical deployment strategies and collaborative opportunities to help employers prevent work-related musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

The event will include speakers from organisations including British Airways, BUPA, British Standards Institute, Transport for London, the HSE and IER. It will also feature experts on the use of ergonomics and robotics, plus start-ups developing innovative workplace solutions for MSK health. The conference takes place on 13 October 2026 at the Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, London W1. Further information and booking can be found hereLink opens in a new window.

Other publications

Nusseir, D. (2026). Beyond digital skills training: Translating Arab refugee women's digital skills for economic inclusion and access to labour marketsLink opens in a new window. Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick.

Nusseir, D. (2026). Got the digital skills, now what? Translating Arab refugee women's digital skills for economic inclusion and access to labour marketsLink opens in a new window. Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick.

Forward

Institute for Employment Research

University of Warwick

Coventry

Warwick, CV4 7AL

United Kingdom

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