Introduction: aims and objectives

The aim of the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Dig.IT) is to act as a focal point to

understand the implications of digital technologies for the future of work in the UK and internationally.

Jointly directed from the Universities of Sussex and Leeds, Dig.IT will bring together an ambitious, inter-

disciplinary team of researchers, supported by experts at Aberdeen, Cambridge, Manchester, and Monash Universities. In collaboration with businesses, unions, policy makers and international think tanks we aim to advance our knowledge of the digital transformation of work and identify policies that work for all.

The key problem examined by the Dig.IT Centre is to understand how, and with what effects, digital

technologies are reshaping the world of work. The disruption of traditional business models is transforming employment and challenging labour regulations. Employers, governments and worker

organisations struggle to keep pace with the consequences of change (Taylor 2017). Rapid advances in

automation, artificial intelligence, platform technologies and huge increases in digital data present both

threats and opportunities for different communities. Simultaneously individuals face new uncertainties

and risks in becoming and staying ‘connected’, while others feel unable to disconnect in an ‘over-connected’ world that affects their social health (Gregg 2011; Wajcman 2015; Hobsbawm 2018).

Opinion is sharply divided around the potential for digital technologies to boost economic growth and

productivity while also delivering good quality jobs and social integration. For optimists, the ‘second machine age’ has the ‘power to change the world’ (Brynjolfsson and McAfee 2014: 25). Pessimists see a darker future

where robots replace human labour and work is increasingly intensified, monitored and insecure (Frey

and Osborne 2017; Spencer 2017; Moore 2018). Others remain more sceptical about the effects of the

pace of change: technological diffusion is simultaneously rapid and sluggish in the way it permeates

different sectors, regions and countries (Neufeind et al. 2018). As more historically focused accounts reveal, technological change does not take place in a regulatory vacuum.

Current public debate is, however, hampered by considerable hyperbole and speculation. Research has

started to uncover the key policy challenges of digital technologies at work for job creation and job

quality, digital skills formation, labour productivity, emerging inequalities and social protection (Neufeind et al. 2018). But, as the recent ESRC scoping exercise on ‘Ways of being in a digital age’ (Yates et al. 2017:

14) notes, current knowledge is ‘predominantly reflective and review based as opposed to being based on empirical data

collection’. We lack systematic and comparative analyses of employers’ strategies and practices, workers’

attitudes and experiences, in-depth studies that unpack what the use of algorithms and data-driven work constitutes in practice, and the wider societal implications for regulatory governance.

There is an urgent need for such an analysis to inform UK policy debates and academic scholarship. We

need to understand how new technologies transform employer strategy and the competiveness of

businesses in global markets and what impact automated decision-making technology has on workplace

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

dynamics and organisational behaviour. And, we need to comprehend how new practices affect people’s

work and life experiences. This requires focusing on how people connect to the labour market, how they

communicate and collaborate through interconnected digital technologies, how it affects their job quality and how they manage their working lives through new digital applications. Developments at sector and

regional level in the UK need to be considered in relation to international trends to understand how the specific characteristics of the UK economy are shaping the diffusion and impact of digitalisation.

The objectives of Dig.IT to achieve this understanding contribute to a flagship research programme to:

1. Generate new knowledge to inform the development of an analytical framework around the

concept of the 'connected worker' and the 'connected economy' by maximising knowledge exchange and co-produced research with relevant communities.

2. Establish a new Data Observatory as a one-platform library of national and international resources for decision-makers connecting with UK Industrial Strategy and welfare policy

3. Initiate an Innovation Fund providing financial support for new research initiatives and methodological approaches, enabling international exchanges and extensive dissemination.

4. Provide a strong career development programme for mid and early career researchers through mentoring and staff development, internships and summer schools.

5. Ensure the long-term sustainability of the centre by developing an MSc in People Analytics

informed by Dig.IT research and institutionally embedded with the appointment of six lectureships, funded by the Universities of Sussex and Leeds.

In sum, the Dig.IT centre will provide a scientifically coherent programme of research driving forward

innovations in interdisciplinary social science theory on the future of work (drawing on economics,

sociology, law, employment relations, management and science and technology policy, and the humanities). The expected outcomes include: i) informing policy and practitioner debates with original

comparative, regional and international data; ii) developing and applying innovative research methods; iii) supporting career development and iv) embedding knowledge in a sustainable learning programme.

Research questions and background debates

The rationale for a new centre on Digital Futures at Work is to provide a compelling empirical base that

will allow policy makers to move beyond current levels of speculation, while contributing intellectually to contemporary debates on the future of work. The key research questions are:

1. What factors affect business adoption and use of technologies, ranging from digitalisation to automation, algorithmic management and Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

2. How does the take up and impact of these technologies vary by sector, region and country?

3. How is the implementation of digital technologies used to transform work and foster good jobs?

4. What effect does this have for different groups of managers, employees, and the self-employed?

5. What happens to displaced workers and how is technology used to help those looking for work?

6. How are employment laws and regulations changing in response to the impact of digitalisation?

7. How are civil society organisations including trade unions and other NGOs responding?

8. How can we draw on different theoretical insights, methodological approaches and comparative experiences to interpret these changes?

Technology at Work

Contemporary debate, particularly at the policy level, implicitly assumes that digital technologies, in the

form of automation, artificial intelligence, platforms or algorithmic management, will have a profound

effect on business and the organisation of work in the years to come. However, concerns over the impact

of technology are nothing new. In previous eras of social and economic upheaval researchers have

critiqued underlying assumptions of technology determining societal and business organisation (Gallie

1978). Historical analysis has taught us the importance of situating technological change within an appropriate economic, social, legal and political context. Technology may well have the potential to drive

economic and social change for the better, but it could equally carry risks and challenges, not least for

those at work. Just how technology is implemented and adopted will be shaped by specific managerial and

political choices. But, how this varies between countries, sectors and firms has only received patchy attention to date.

A large body of research illustrates how human action, institutions, informal relations and the political

disposition of workers and managers vary in different societal and sectoral settings. For example,

comparative research on ‘knowledge workers’ (Frenkel et al. 1999) shows how employers’ implementation of new technologies are shaped by levels of societal acceptance for digital transactions, the availability of

local skills and the effect of vocational education and training systems. Forms of labour regulation, the

role of trade unions, access to international outsourcing, supply chains, and employers’ long term service

delivery strategy also matter. Such cross-national research highlights both the similarities, in terms of

trends in the use of technology, and the differences in why societal implementation varies between countries and sectors for different groups of workers (O’Reilly 1992).

This earlier analysis informs us that the implementation of different digital technologies is, and will be,

affected by the knowledge, skills and attitudes of managers and workers in varied institutional settings and

sectors. Already we have seen how the music industry was one of the earliest to be affected by challenges to intellectual property rights through digital file sharing (Hesmondhalgh 2018), and the death of the high

street has been attributed to the impact of online shopping (Grugulis and Bozkurt 2011). While driverless

cars are currently receiving much media attention, less visible are challenges presented to business services such as law and finance, as well as public sector services, health and education.

The differential effects on individuals’ working lives are already eliciting various policy responses from a

diverse community of actors. These actors include governments, employers, trade unions and newly

emerging associations seeking to advance a new bargaining agenda around the implementation and

adoption of new working practices generated by digital technologies (Neufeind et al. 2018). Policy responses are influenced by actors’ perceptions of the degree of determinism or choice they have around

emerging and disruptive practices associated with new digital technologies. These responses can be

distinguished between accommodation and a more optimistic active engagement for those who see technological

change as inevitable. In contrast, where technology is seen as part of a strategic choice, actors can

establish antagonistic positions or alternative approaches to harness the benefits for themselves (Warhurst et

al. 2018f). Identifying these different dispositions requires a focus that keeps both what is happening within the firm in view, while simultaneously observing the broader business ecosystem and the role, not

only of technology leaders but of political, economic, legal, socio-cultural and environmental actors

(Brynjolfsson and McAfee 2014; Kalleberg and Dunn 2016; Haskel and Westlake 2017; Kenney and Zysman 2018).

Technological change and ‘connections’

One of the characteristics of work in the digital age has been the emergence of large digital networks enabling synergies, scalability and spillovers in the intangible economy of knowledge-based assets (Haskel

and Westlake 2017). Such spillovers permeate the organisation of work, as job search, the monitoring of work schedules and performance is conducted via mobile communications and algorithmic management.

Technological spillovers also affect family life for those who are (over) ‘connected’, for those who can

afford to take time out to be ‘disconnected’, and for those who find it really difficult to ‘connect’ in the

first place (Robinson et al. 2015; Hobsbawm 2018). Blank et al. (2017: 83) suggests the ‘connected’ are more likely to be young, economically better off, well educated and living in cities. The concept of

‘connection’ has been discussed in an emerging body of business literature from the 'connected worker'

(Deloitte 2017), the ‘connected economy’ (HBR 2016), to the prospects of a ‘connected world’ (Dean et al. 2012).

Optimists see new opportunities with more flexible working schedules and locations integrating those

previously excluded from conventional working practices. However, more critical interpretations

emphasise the consequences of ‘hyper-connectivity’ (Quan-Haase and Wellman 2006), the difficulties in

‘disconnecting’ (Hobsbawm 2018), and the potentially negative spillovers between work and private lives

(Gregg 2011). Intellectually unnpacking the concept of the ‘connected worker’ linked to the growth of digital technologies requires examining the dynamic interplay of ‘connection’ and ‘disconnection’ across

the boundaries of private and working life: Boden (2016) cautions that this could raise deeper ethical questions around choice and implementation, for example in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Inequality and networks

The process of digitalisation also raises questions about new and old forms of inequality. Evidence

suggests that gender and racial pay inequalities are evident in the new digital economy (Howcroft and

Rubery 2018; WEF, 2017) and that bias permeates algorithmic decision-making (www.ajlunited.org). New forms of digital, ‘gig’ and crowd work have been widely associated with job insecurity, a lack of benefits

and representation, and the undermining of working conditions (Forde et al, 2017). While digital

technology is not constrained by geographical boundaries the development of digital clusters and Internet use are unequally distributed across the UK (Blank et al. 2017).

These contemporary observations draw parallels with earlier sociological theories of the ‘netw ork society’.

This has been used to understand the social, political, economic and cultural consequences of technology

on how different social groups experience modernisation, capitalism, social networks, and the effect of

strong and weak ties (Granovetter 1983). Wellman (1988: 38) advocates studying social networks, rather than groups, as ‘one is able to discover complex hierarchies of power, not merely discrete strata...providing a mechanism for

comprehending how internal and external relations intersect with and modify each other’. While Castells (1996) sees

networks as the basic unit of organising modern society, Van Dijk (2005) gives more emphasis to the

relationships between individuals, groups, organisation and communities linked through different

networks. Essentially analysis of social and digital networks are a useful means to understand how these technologies are shaping social connections, and new forms of inequalities, both at work and beyond the firm.

Van Dijk (2005: 15) suggests that the digital divide is caused by deeper ‘personal and positional categorical

inequalities’ in society and the distribution of resources relevant to this type of inequality. Such inequalities are evident in the extent and nature of access to ICT that individuals may have, which has consequences

for how individuals and groups participate in society. Van Dijk identifies five core dimensions to

developing a theory about new forms of digital inequality: first, categorical inequalities in society produce

an unequal distribution of resources; second, this causes unequal access to digital technologies; which,

third, depends on the characteristics of these technologies; fourth, unequal access to digital technologies brings about an unequal participation in society in different fields; and, fifth this reinforces categorical

inequalities and an unequal distribution of resources. This relational perspective could provide a useful

analytical framework to understand persisting and emerging inequalities arising from the process of

implementing digital technologies at work, both within the UK, and from an international and comparative perspective.

New opportunities for whom in the digital era?

Economists assessing the effects of skill biased technological change have provided insights into the

simultaneous benefits of new technologies and rising inequalities associated with the growth of the

intangible economy (Brynjolfsson and McAfee 2014; Haskel and Westlake 2017). Extensive debate has

focused on estimating the degree of job substitution through automation. Early stages of digitalisation,

disproportionately affect those in low skilled, low paid jobs, particularly women and ethnic minorities.

However, advanced digitalisation involving algorithmic decision-making, the deployment of AI and machine learning is seen to pose a threat to skilled professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and judges

(Frey and Osborne 2017). The likely extent of job loss from digitalisation has polarised debate. Critics

note that the level of analysis on (whole) jobs misses the fact that some tasks are more or less

substitutable than others. Employers decide which combination of tasks constitutes a job, and this choice

varies by country and sector (Gregory and O’Reilly 1996). Historical analysis shows that technology both displaces and creates new job opportunities. Historically this has meant redundancies for some workers in

traditional manufacturing jobs and, more recently, in retail. Digital technologies can create new job

opportunities to integrate those previously excluded from employment, and Arntz et al. (2016) even

suggest job growth based around the elimination of low skilled, dangerous tasks, will contribute to improving job quality.

However, it is an open question whether new business models allow for the sharing of prosperity, as they

potentially exacerbate the concentration of capital in the hands of a few companies, raising concerns

about wealth redistribution and social mobility. Accelerating innovation systems allow some successful firms to make use of extraordinary economies of scale and exceptional returns on capital. But while these

‘superstar firms’ tend to have higher profit margins they have lower shares of labour. Kenney and

Zysman (2018) argue that in the US a growing ecosystem of venture capital and private equity investors

chasing ‘unicorn’ investments (software start-ups achieving US$1 billion evaluation) is likely to have dire

consequences for the increased commodification of labour, organised across platform companies. The same level of investment in Europe is not currently evident.

Central to debates on inequality in the digital age is the notion that innovations in technology are driving

growth and productivity in some areas at an exponential rate, but the benefits are not widely shared

(Haskel and Westlake 2017). Policy choices on how the consequences of these technological changes are implemented and managed are political. The outcome will depend on how effective coalitions of actors at

the municipal, sectoral, national and international level can steer these changes. However, systematic,

comparative analysis is currently lacking in discussions of these general trends that frequently draw on

examples from the USA. Dig.IT will address this gap seeking to rigorously compare developments across a number of sectors and regions in the UK with parallel developments in other countries.

Research Methods

The Dig.IT centre will adopt a wide array of methodological approaches, and will encourage novel applications supported by resources organised through an Innovation Fund. These methods underpin a

long-term research programme across four core themes, with clear outputs, inclusion and development of

Mid and ECRs, along with user engagement in the design, implementation and use of the research. The research will combine quantitative, qualitative and comparative analyses at a macro, meso and micro level.

Conceptual Reviews of relevant literature will frame our empirical programme of research and build a

theoretical foundation for the concept of the ‘connected worker’. Initial working papers will integrate

different disciplinary contributions. These will situate our core research questions within a firm, sectoral,

regional and internationally comparative perspective. This will engage with debates on universal work-

technology trends and comparative historical institutionalism (Thelen 1999). These will explore a range of theories applying concepts of social change to the digital transformation of work.

Socio-Legal analysis will compare how the employment/self-employment binary divide is legally and

statistically constructed in countries with different legal traditions and levels of development, how

digitalisation is changing traditional legal conceptualisation of work, and whether correlations exist

between the growth of the digital economy and employment regulation in selected countries. This will

involve the collection and analysis of legal data, using ‘leximetric’ coding techniques (Adams et al., 2017) to create a dataset of national employment laws and in sectors affected by new digital platforms and

automation. We will estimate econometrically, using time-series and dynamic panel data analysis, the impact of the legal framework on employment growth and outcomes in light of trends in digitalisation.

Secondary data analysis will examine existing longitudinal and cross-sectional data resources to evaluate the extent of digitalisation in different regional and national contexts to construct a portrait of technical

change over time. Data resources include: Skills and Employment Survey; Employers’ Skills Survey; Workplace

Employment Relations Survey; Labour Force Survey; Understanding Society; ONS Management Practices Survey; Oxford

Internet Surveys. International sources include: EU Labour Force Survey; EU Working Condition Survey (EWCS):

European Companies Survey; Eurostat Survey on ICT usage in Households and by Individuals; Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI 2017) and regional comparisons will work with the Vibrant Economy Index developed

by Grant Thornton from the Centre Advisory Board. We will use a range of appropriate statistical and

econometric modelling techniques to undertake this analysis, drawing on the recognised methodological

expertise of co-applicants from a range of disciplines. Based on our initial review of these data sources,

we expect there to be gaps and limitations in this analysis, but the process of doing the analysis will allow us to better understand what these gaps are so that we can address them in our own data collection.

Employers’ Digital Practices at Work Survey: Employers’ attitudes, behaviour and strategy is a key

piece of evidence we need to collect if we want to understand how digitalisation will impact work in the

future. Given the limitations of extant secondary datasets we need to conduct an original survey of

employers as a core centre output to understand change. The datasets detailed above consider technology

at work with reference to access and utilisation of ICT, rather than digital technologies per se. There is little available data, for example, on the motivations of employers for particular types of technological

investment or how they are, or are not, looking to utilise such technologies in the reorganisation of work.

The evidence base on contemporary technological change at work is currently reliant on small-scale

studies from consultancies, practitioners and policy bodies, often with a focus on the gig or platform

economy, rather than conceptually informed social science instruments on mainstream developments. An historical benchmark is the 2002 Change in Employer Practices Survey (CEPS-02), conducted as part of the

ESRC Future of Work programme (White et al, 2004), which did much to raise awareness of the

utilisation of ICT in the workplace in the early 2000s; but it was never repeated. A more recent German

IAB/ZEW-Arbeitswelt-4.0 Survey maps the effects of digitalisation on businesses and employment

providing a potential source for cross-national comparison (Arnold et al. 2016). We have a quote from IPSOS-Mori for a survey of 1,000 employers, based on workplace level distribution. Analytical techniques

would include inferential and descriptive statistics, regression and multi-level modelling to capture

regional and sectoral differences in the UK. Members of the advisory board have indicated how they

would promote the result from this to their clients. The survey would be repeated at the start of each five-

year cycle, based on the assumption that the centre would continue after the initial five years of ESRC funding.

Longitudinal Sector Case Studies will provide more continuous qualitative data about the course of

change and sector specific challenges. These will explore causal processes underpinning the statistical

patterns identified in the quantitative analysis summarised above. We focus on four sectors: Cultural Industries, Consumer Services (Retail), Business Services (Law, Accountancy and Finance) and Public Services

(Health, Education and Public Employment Services). In each sector we will identify both established

organisations and potentially disruptive platform entrants. Sample selection is informed by either the

linkage of key sectors to the UK Industrial Strategy, or because they are areas not currently investigated

by other ESRC funded initiatives. A longitudinal case study sector method allows us to explore the developments underpinning the implementation of new forms of digital technologies, and how they

affect both employers and employees, in different regions of the UK. Given the fragmentation and

blurring of organisational boundaries this design will enable a more holistic perspective to understand how organisations are working within larger, or smaller networks, locally, nationally and internationally.

The case studies will start with intelligence reports in the first year, outlining the major threats and

opportunities to these sectors. These will be shared with the Advisory Boards, who will also assist with

identifying appropriate case study organisations, or who have offered to be case study firms. Methods will

include semi-structured interviews with HR Managers and Digital Officers to identify organisational

transformation, focus groups, worker biographies, surveys of workers, data-scraping and other potentially innovative methods (detailed below). One comparative dimension to the research will focus on China,

where Cooke will examine the virtualisation of labour relations and intensifying interest conflicts in the sharing/ platform economy, drawing on social network theory.

Innovative Methods: A number of Dig.IT researchers have pioneered innovative methods for social

science research, including the Mappiness App to examine individual well-being designed by Mackerron;

video and diary methods utilised by Faith and Chamakiotis to examine dispersed communities and virtual

teams; the ‘participant as researcher method’ of co-produced research employed by Hardy for

traditionally hard to access groups; and the leximetric coding methods used by Deakin and his colleagues to build large, cross-national datasets of laws and regulations. Charlwood is also currently working with

big data using organisations’ own administrative analytics. We will explore the potential of using such

methods in dialogue with our case study organisations, with the expectation that different types of

method may be used across different cases, but within a framework that allows for rigorous case comparison.

Framework and Methods for Analysis

The framework for analysis to examine the concept of the ‘connected worker’ and the dynamic interplay between ‘connection’ and ‘disconnection’ within different spheres of work and life, as a result of

digitalisation, requires a mixed method, multi-level analysis. A STEEPLE framework allows us to

combine an interdisciplinary range of theoretical and methodological approaches with business and

management processes. Such a Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political, Legal and

Ethical approach facilitates multi-level analysis, including the macro-economy, sectoral context, and individual firms and the managers and workers within them. The framework is sufficiently simple, flexible

and generic to allow us to make more complex in-depth comparisons of organisations working in

different regions of the UK, alongside making international comparisons between the different dimensions at each of these levels; specific studies can then be located within this broader framework.

Fig 1. STEEPLE Framework

Source: adapted from Farnham, D. (2010) Human Resource Management in Context, London, CIPD

External

Sectora l

Organisational

•Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political, Legal, Ethical

•Business product, customers & suppliers•Culture & Innovation

•Power, conflict & control

•Management, functions, power, authority & influences

•Mode of HR

•Employees voice & organisation

Our core research programme focuses on four broad research themes, the results of which will be fed

into the Data Observatory, with an Innovation Fund to support capacity building and innovative approaches as they emerge over the life of the centre.

Research Theme one (RT1) establishes the conceptual, legal and quantitative framework

Research Theme two (RT2) focuses on the Employers’ Survey

Research Theme three (RT3) involves longitudinal sector case studies

Research Theme four (RT4) examines how the disconnected attempt to reconnect, through public employment services, the growth of new types of self-employment, platform work and workers’ responses to building new forms of voice and representation in an international context.

Fig 2. Organigram: Research Themes (RT), Innovation & Fellowship Fund (IF) Data Observatory (DO)

Core Research Programme

The core research programme will be organised across four, cross-cutting thematic priorities. We will

make active use of the Dig.IT Advisory Board and partner-related Regional Advisory Boards to inform

our co-production strategy. The research programme will contribute a multi-disciplinary, empirically

informed and internationally comparative understanding of how digital technology is changing the world of work.

RT1. The Impact of Digitalisation on Work and Employment

Three strands of work will set the conceptual, regulatory and empirical foundations for Dig.IT in RT1.

a: Conceptualising Digital Futures at Work, historically, regionally and internationally (Leads: Spencer, Rubery, Deakin, Wallace, Bessa)

Conceptual framing is currently focused around speculative futurology or emerging typologies of digital

density and gig work (Forde et al. 2017; DESI 2017). Drawing on historical institutional political

economy, Dig.IT researchers will evaluate and compare extant international analytical frameworks, alongside a more historically sensitive, inter-disciplinary and comparative theorisation of digital futures at

work, building on earlier studies of the implementation of technology at work. A series of position papers

would be published in our Working Paper series in the first year, and would inform our empirical research

programme and on-going conceptualisation of the ‘connected worker’ across the five-year programme.

b: Comparative regulation of digital employment (Lead: Deakin)

There is a complex relationship between digitalisation and the way the law regulates employment and

defines work relationships (Forde et al. 2017). This will be explored using the Cambridge Business

Research-Labour Regulation Index (CBR-LRI), the largest and most complete dataset of labour laws currently available, which has recently been extended by the Cambridge team (Adams et al. 2017).

Adapting the ‘leximetric’ coding methods underlying the CBR-LRI, we will create new indicators specific

DO

RT1

RT2 RT3

RT4IF

to regulations affecting digital employment, and use panel-data and time-series econometrics to study the

relationship between regulation and the adoption of digital technologies. In addition, we will conduct

comparative case studies of the relationship between technological change and changes in corporate structure, the nature of work relationships and trade union organisation in a range of developing and

developed economies (including the USA, Germany, India, South Africa, Japan and China). A particular

strength of this multi-methods approach is that it allows for a more rigorous analysis of law -technology interactions than current predictions of job loss and regulatory desuetude.

c: Mapping regional and international trends of digital technologies at work

(Leads: Dickens, Wallace, Bessa)

Secondary analysis of existing datasets will explore trends and associations between access and use of

technology and key dimensions of work over time, including: job security, pay, skills, discretion, working

time and employee voice. Consideration will be given to established and evolving inequalities at work, in

terms of key dimensions of equality, regional disparities and work-life reconciliation. Single datasets will offer limited insights, but via an expansive review of key sources we will be able to build an historical,

comparative, picture of technology at work over time, from both individual and employer perspectives.

As well as providing state of the art knowledge from existing sources, these analyses will help to identify key knowledge gaps and how these need to be addressed through our unique Employer Survey (RT2).

RT2. Employers’ Digital Practices at Work Survey (Leads: Valizade and Burchell)

Given the limitations of secondary datasets, and ad-hoc management consultancy surveys, Dig.IT will

commission a major, nationally representative survey of employers’ strategies and practices of digital technologies at work. This will be designed specifically to understand: how and why different

technologies are, or are not, being implemented, and used at work; how technological investment has

changed; the business rationale for digital investment; the impact of such change on the key dimensions

of work outlined above; and indicators of business performance. The survey will be conducted by a

professional survey company who have recommended computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) with the aim of generating 1,000 completed responses. With a focus on the workplace level the sample

would be broadly representative of companies across key private sector businesses, with a focus on

companies employing more than 10 people, with quotas set for region, industry and company size,

including turnover and employee size – larger employers would need to be oversampled relative to

population to ensure an adequate base for analysis. A key consideration would be finding the appropriate

respondent, hence a range of senior executives would be targeted, including HR, project managers, chief technical/digital officers, innovation directors and owner managers, to ensure that the respondent best

placed to comment on digital applications and the nature of work is surveyed. Given the complexities of

the survey we would look to contract a brand leader in survey research, such as Ipsos-Mori, to deliver the

work. Following piloting, the survey would be launched in late 2020, with analysis in 2021/2, and a major

book publication and journal articles from late 2022. A legacy investment, the survey would be repeated at the start of each five-year centre cycle, providing a valuable resource for the wider academic

community. Advisory Board members would assist with design, piloting and promotion. Collaboration

with Pew, Eurofound and Monash, and comparison with the IAB/ZEW-Arbeitswelt-4.0 Survey, would

build internationally comparable dimensions with the US, Europe and China, ensuring that our survey

became seen as a robust and relevant source of knowledge that would receive a high level of public attention facilitated through the DO, links to international research and policy organisations, as well as through the dissemination by our Advisory Board.

RT3. Employers’ & employees’ experiences of digital work across sectors

(Leads: Hesmondhalgh, Bozkurt, Cooke and Petrakaki)

Longitudinal sector case studies of four economic sectors will provide intensive investigations of the nature of digital adoption by employers, and how this is potentially transforming business models,

management practices and employees’ experiences of work. The sectors include early and later digital

adopters, facing high and low risks of job displacement and the restructuring of work: the Creative

Industries, Consumer Services (Retail), Business Services (Finance and Legal) and Public Services (Education, Health and Public Employment Service). Work in the first year will result in sector intelligence reports on

the opportunities and threats faced by these sectors, drawing on secondary data and published reports, in

consultation with the Advisory Board, who will also act as gatekeepers for access to key companies in

these sectors. Reports will also focus on the specific challenges to employment in different sectors based

in the UK, how these vary by region, and how they compare with international trends. These studies will be widely disseminated through our advisory networks and published on the project website via the DO.

The main programme of longitudinal case studies will start in the second year. The sampling strategy will

involve the selection of six organisations across each of the four sectors, 24 in total, at relevant locations

across the UK – though it is highly likely that many cases will be headquartered internationally, with a focus on both established firms and on emerging (‘disrupting’) digital platforms (Forde et al. 2017).

Access will be negotiated on the basis of on-going collaboration with the case study firms. In each of the

cases and sectors we will focus on how management processes and practices are changing and how

workers are experiencing digital transformation, through specific technologies and applications. We will

integrate qualitative and quantitative approaches and explore the adoption of novel methodologies, drawn from the expertise of our team and informed by a series of methodological workshops supported by the

Innovation Fund. The two axis of analysis will examine: i) changing management processes and practices and ii) workers’ experiences of digital transformation.

Changing management processes and practices: Digitalisation presents opportunities and challenges for

management around investment and implementation decisions and in how digital applications and data

can be used to enhance management decision-making, leadership, working in virtual teams and workforce

productivity. This includes new approaches of algorithmic management and predictive people analytics,

although managers often struggle to fully realise the value of such applications and data (Angrave et al, 2017). Companies also face ongoing challenges around skills shortages, both in terms of developing

managerial capabilities to keep up with technological advance and data volume and enabling lower skill

workers to acquire digital skills. The research will involve initial interviews with HR Directors and Digital

Officers (where relevant) to capture emerging challenges. This will be followed by detailed additional

interviews over time to allow us to track how management are developing digital strategies and adapting

specific practices in response to implementation challenges. As part of research co-production we would seek to feedback our on-going research findings to case study firms to facilitate internal ‘learning loops’.

Workers’ experiences of digital transformation: Workers are affected by digital transformations in a myriad of

ways. These include how they access job opportunities, the level of discretion and autonomy they have at

work, the skills demands of work, the intensity of their work and their ability to organise their work and

home lives around time scheduling and competing pressures. In some sectors, such as health care, the

strict technological monitoring of time (and productive labour) can result in extreme work intensity and

new dynamics between paid and unpaid work time, while in other instances (finance) technology may

offer new routes for employee learning and career development. Within each case and sector we would

look to explore the experiences of different segments of workers, sampled by age, gender, ethnicity and

education. As far as possible we would look to track groups of workers over the course of our research

programme, with initial interviews focusing on how jobs have changed and follow-up interviews focusing

on on-going experiences of work and perspectives on the future. Sample attrition, w hich would be a

particular problem with platforms, will be addressed by matching leavers with comparable workers: where

possible we would, however, look to capture why workers left particular firms and sectors.

Three themes will underpin this research. First, we examine how digital transformations affect access to jobs and the conduct of work. For example, apps are increasingly used to manage recruitment and shift

scheduling (via Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger or wechat), and how work performance is monitored

through algorithms. Second, we are interested in how technology has impacted the key dimensions of

work related to job security, pay, skills, working time and employee voice (detailed in RT1). Third, we will explore how technology is being used to connect individuals with others - co–workers, managers,

subordinates, clients at work, the market and the home. This will allow us to examine the digital

boundaries between work and family life and the networks that permeate this. The research design will

also allow us to tease out the extent to which significant regional disparities are apparent in terms of workers’ experiences and outcomes.

RT4. Reconnecting the disconnected: New channels of voice and representation

(Lead: Faith, Howcroft, Hardy and Umney)

This research theme extends the sectoral case studies to examine how potentially ‘disconnected’ workers

become connected to the labour market, new forms of platform work and employee organisations. For

many displaced workers digital technologies are now a necessary tool for both job search activities and benefit entitlement. In the restructured public employment service, ‘digital by default’ service delivery

impacts the everyday interactions between frontline workers and service users with differentiated access

to new technologies, presenting obvious challenges for the most marginalised in society. It is an open

question whether such technology can empower the unemployed to find work or whether it marginalises

further, particularly for those that struggle with digital literacy or basic access to technology.The research

will explore the challenges faced by the unemployed to reconnect with the labour market, and also give attention to the potentially supportive role that can be played by intermediary bodies within this new digital landscape.

Digital technologies also offer new possibilities for income generation and may stimulate new forms of employment and self-employment, but we still know very little about how workers navigate such forms of

employment or how they are able to represent their own interests. Public debate has concentrated on the

lack of social protections for such workers, but we are starting to see new counter movements focused on

workers’ rights, many of which are challenging through collective action and litigation the characterisation

of digitally mediated work as ‘self-employment’. These counter movements include forms of collective representation through new union bodies, such as the Independent Workers of Great Britain, and the

sharing of information by workers about key employers on new social media forums (Wood et al, 2018).

Examples are also emerging of digital platform cooperatives focused on connecting sharing communities

and ‘alternative responses’ (Warhurst et al, 2018f) designed to harness the benefits of technology for the

needs of labour rather than capital. Traditional unions have, in some cases, been slow to engage with such developments, but are increasingly looking to organise and give voice to such workers, with the German

union IG Metal at the forefront of this agenda, through the faircrowdwork initiative and new bargaining

agendas. Dig.IT will explore this under-researched area of enquiry through qualitative studies of organising and campaigning activities by very different groups of workers in different national contexts.

Data Observatory

The Dig.IT Data Observatory (DO) will allow the project to meet the objectives of our core research

programme and provide a focal point for researchers, policy makers, media, and other end users looking for data on the digital economy and futures at work in the UK and internationally. Led by Forde (Leeds)

and Ogbonnaya (Sussex), the DO will support a vibrant, regionally specific and internationally connected

centre generating original data and innovative methodologies to examine digital futures at work for wide-

ranging external constituencies. It is comparable with the US Aspen Institute gigwork data hub and the

UK Web Science Institute (Southampton), ‘offering analysis, tools, data and advice to government,

business and civil society’, but with a distinctive focus on the nature and impact of digital technology on the future of work. The aims of the DO will be organised across five specific activities: i) data generation

and analysis; ii) data commentary, dissemination and impact; iii) a ‘digital futures at work’ information

resource building up to a ‘one-platform library’ of content on digital work; iv) development and

management of Dig.IT teaching and research resources; and v) outreach activities.

1. Data generation and analysis The DO will provide the physical and virtual focal point for the collection, analysis, storage and sharing

of data for Dig.IT and will have formal oversight of the Dig.IT Data Management Plan. This includes:

The collation of secondary datasets for analysis by Dig.IT researchers, including established

nationally representative surveys, identified above, and new surveys and sources of data identified

through the life of the centre. This will be facilitated through networking and partnership

arrangements with other institutes, such as the ESRC-funded Leeds Institute for Data Analytics,

Pew, Eurofound, OECD, OII’s Online Labour Index and the Aspen Institute. This will include

analysis of newsfeeds from these and other relevant organisations.

The design, piloting and distribution of the Employers’ Digital Practices at Work Survey, with the DO acting

as a focal point of coordination with expert users (drawn from the Advisory Board) that will

input to the development of the survey.

The co-production of new data on digital futures at work with academic, commercial, government and

third-sector users. This will be achieved through flexible and adaptable collaborative research

with users, sponsored Ph.D. projects, and data internships (see also 5 below). Existing data

owned by partners that speaks to digital futures at work can be stored and analysed through the

DO, with formal agreements to ensure that the requirements of end-users for analysis will be

met.

The storage and analysis of core research programme data. The DO will act as the repository for the

secure storage of Dig.IT data, with access to the data first available to core members, leading to

the publication of books, reports, blogs and academic articles. Wider user access to appropriate

data will then be made available through the UK Data Archive.

2. Data commentaries, dissemination and impact activities The DO will be designed to facilitate timely and rapid dissemination of findings in an impactful way, alongside more ‘traditional’ academic output. Some of this content will be co-produced, and over time a

‘responsive’ Dig.IT ‘help desk’ will be developed, where external users can submit queries about trends

and developments in Digital Work to be answered by relevant experts in the Centre, using DO data. A

range of publications will be specifically generated through the DO, including: Digital Briefs (quarterly)

of recent centre findings; regular Blogs on topical issues; Trends in Digital Futures at Work (twice a year): changes to key employment indicators with interactive charts and data; Working Papers (regular);

‘How to’ guides (regular) - on the use of particular techniques, methods or statistical packages; and

Annual reports.

3. Collation of external ‘Digital Futures at Work’ resources to produce a ‘one -platform library’

Drawing from the method of the Eurofound Restructuring Monitor, which extracts data from news feeds, the DO will establish a new information resource on digital futures at work. The exact sources will

be determined once the Centre is established, but will include leading UK, EU and global news feeds, as

well as leading research centres on digital work. Data collation will be semi-automated, with an algorithm

used to provide extra news items based on key words. Data scraping via Twitter/social media is also

possible. Relevant news items will be logged, collated, indexed and searchable. This resource will build into a one-platform library at the forefront of research on digital work and will act as a focal point for

decision-makers across the policy spectrum, connecting with industrial strategy and welfare policy.

Summary data will inform Dig.IT commentaries, dissemination and impact.

4. Development and management of Dig.IT teaching and research resources Teaching and research resources will be designed for a range of academic (from UG to PGR level) and

end-user communities on digital work. This will include insights into trends and patterns in digital work,

methodological guides, resources for using innovative statistical techniques, and interactive guides to using key data analysis packages. The organisation of materials will be facilitated by the ESRC, HEFCE

and Nuffield Foundation funded Q-Step initiative (http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/q-step), with

Leeds a recognised Q-step centre that can provide valuable opportunities for engaging with students,

staff, schoolchildren, employers and end users. Outputs will include: new taught modules on digital

futures at work at UG, PG and PGR level, including methods modules; workshops and seminars for PGR students and staff on researching digital futures at work, master classes provided by end users and

digital futures experts, including Advisory Board members; and digital shorts – Vlogs showcasing

analytical techniques or key findings. Longer-term sustainability will be ensured through the introduction

of a flagship MSc in People Analytics, organised across Sussex and Leeds. Charlwood has already

designed an M level module on People Analytics at Leeds that has proved extremely popular with students, and given our expertise at M level recruitment we are confident the programme would be

attracting at least 50 students by its third year; Moeini-Aghkariz has initiated experimental courses in Data

Analytics for UG students at Sussex.

5. Development of a hub for outreach activities Outreach activities will engage a wide range of end-users. The Q-Step programme provides an already

well-established structure through which this can be organised. Outreach activities will include:

• Paid four week Student Summer Placements will be offered to 2 level 2 UG students at Leeds and Sussex each year (4 in total).

• One-day workshops or taster sessions will be organised each year, to give students an introduction to data that can be used to look at digital labour and digital futures.

• Annual International Summer School - with input from Research Associates, Eurofound (Dublin), Pew Research (Washington) and the Advisory Board members. Summer schools will be open to external applicants and centre members, and will bring together ECRs, senior fellows and doctoral students. They will be held at different locations every year, potentially in collaboration with the Fairness at Work conference (Manchester) and/or the ILO Decent Work conferences (Geneva).

Innovation and the International Fellowship Fund (IF)

The IF is designed to provide resources (£500,000) to support innovative proposals as they develop

across the life of the centre. These will be advertised as an open competition for centre members and the

wider academic, business and policy community, for small seed grants of between £5k and £30k. Projects

will support experimental and emerging digital research methods, frontier research on the digitalisation of

work, comparative research and events. Output from IF projects will be published initially in the Dig.IT

Working Paper Series. In addition, the IF will allocate additional resources for up to 20 Marie Jahoda Visiting Fellowships grants over the life of the centre. These are intended to enable researchers and

practitioners to spend a period of up to 3 months at Sussex, Leeds or selected partner organisations (Pew

Research, Eurofound), Advisory Board organisations, the Low Pay Commission (London) and UK

government departments through links we have established with the Cabinet Office Open Innovation

Unit. Doctoral candidates, ECRs, Mid-career academics and non-academic professionals will be particularly encouraged to apply for these to encourage the coproduction of research that contributes to a

key objective of capacity building and career development for academic careers. IF calls will be overseen

by a committee involving the Dig.IT and DO Head, supported by Nightingale and Mackerron as IF co-ordinators.

Expected Outputs and Impact

The expected academic, user and hybrid outputs have been designed to provide a range of materials to

communicate findings to diverse audiences over the short, medium and long-term life of the centre and are closely linked to specific centre objectives. The strategy will be assisted by the engagement of a Media

Fellow (Journalist) to help disseminate our research to a broader public audience, and an Impact and

Communication manager to assist with promotional and media engagement and the development of indicators to feed into REF Impact case studies.

Academic Outputs: An Open Access Working Papers Series will be established with papers

produced throughout the life of the centre, to present core research programme and IF project findings.

The working papers will be internally refereed (by the centre publication and communications group

within the Impact grouping). There will be a strong emphasis on mentoring authors, particularly those at ECR level, to develop such contributions for submission to high status journals. The centre can draw on

the expertise of senior centre researchers who are, or have been, journal editors (Stuart, Deakin, Burchell,

O’Reilly, Cooke) to help in this endeavour. We will also seek to link our working paper series in collaboration with the ILO, Eurofound and Pew Research through the Data Observatory.

Journal Special Issues will be targeted at key stages of the Centre’s Output plan to connect Dig.IT

researcher with wider academic communities, and to leverage the links of our research team with leading

journals, such as: Cambridge Journal of Economics; Human Relations; Work, Employment and Society; Socio-Economic Review; Journal of European Social Policy; and Human Resource Management Journal amongst others.

Three book projects will be planned, including a book reporting output from i) the Digital Employers’

Practices at Work Survey, ii) an integrated data analysis around the concept of the ‘connected worker’, and

iii) an Open Access Book (similar to the www.style-handbook.eu) based on short summary essays of some of the key contributions from the centre that allows a mix of academic and user contributions.

Academic outputs would meet our objective to ‘generate new knowledge’ and ‘maximise knowledge

exchange and co-production’ for UK and international audiences. This would meet the call specification

to provide a scientifically coherent programme of research aimed at driving forward innovations in social science theory, the development and application of novel research methods, data sources, and practical

applications. In sum, these publications would illustrate new theory development informed by empirical

evidence. Through systematic mentoring and supportive activities these outputs would also develop our ECRs through the M-ECRs Forum, ensuring a pipeline of skills beyond the first five years of funding.

User Outputs: These will reach a broader public audience, including policy makers, practitioners and

students. Outputs will include a series of generally accessible articles, blogs (such as articles in The

Conversation), policy briefs, webinars and podcasts, of on-going findings and general commentary on

digital futures at work, available through a multi-media centre website and the DO. The potential to

engage and influence policy makers will be harnessed wherever possible, including dissemination events, user engagement and the submission of evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group on AI, with an

emphasis on informing policy debates, the professional and business community and civil society organisations.

Hybrid Outputs: These cross the binary academic-user audience. The Data Observatory will host the

Employers’ Survey that will be publically accessible via the UK Data Archive. The MSc People

Analytics will be designed to fill a gap in current professional education identified by Dame Wendy Hall’s

governmental strategic review of AI (Hall and Pesenti 2017). Drawing on Dig.IT research it will elaborate

how managers can use the growing volume of data generated by digital technologies to inform decision-making and to improve job quality for the benefit of a broader community. This output will position itself

at the forefront of capacity building in an emerging professional area that crosses the academic-user

divide. Five new lectureships at UoS, and one at UoL as in kind contribution, will support the delivery of

this programme and input across the UG and PG syllabus. International Exchanges funded by the IF

will enable a competitive application process to spend up to three months at a partner institution working on a mutually agreed co-produced research topic, published initially as Dig.IT Working Papers and blogs.

Expected Impact: Dig.IT will give strategic priority to the career development programme of early and

mid-career researchers designed to foster future research leaders and improve existing gender and ethnic

inequalities in academia. The pathways employed to contribute to a shift in policy and practice will

include strong networks with relevant business and policy communities (such as DWP, BEIS),

international visiting exchange fellowships, doctoral internships at government departments and business

partners belonging to our advisory board, and at the Low Pay Commission. This will be maximised by working closely with an expert advisory board of business, policy makers, think tanks and trade unions in the design, implementation and dissemination of research activity, and via an active social media strategy.

In sum, the Dig.IT centre would provide a scientifically coherent programmes of research aimed at driving forward innovations in interdisciplinary social science theory, the development and application of novel research methods, and the creation of new data resources that will foreground academic and policy debates around digital futures at work. The inclusive leadership of the centre will ensure that it becomes an internationally recognised centre of excellence for social science research, where researchers can collaborate on long-term topical projects within and beyond the UK, with academic and professional partners. The range of outputs is designed to make a significant contribution to scientific discourse, inform the Industrial Strategy, business decision-making, social policy and social dialogue. The inclusion of potential users of research through the Advisory Boards will ensure, via an active communications strategy, that the findings from the centre are relevant and widely publicised to interested constituencies across different regions of the UK and internationally. The Centre will be sustained through the on-going institutional support of Sussex and Leeds Universities, including match-funded PhD studentships, new lectureships that consolidate early career researchers and embed our research into new teaching programmes, integrating new knowledge into existing Q-Step investment and a new MSc programme in People Analytics.