The Future of Work Podcast

Can artificial intelligence, robots and surveillance protect workers on the job? Yes, according to the latest report from the International Labour Organization. In this episode of the Future of Work podcast, ILO occupational safety and health expert Manal Azzi explains how AI and technology is being used as a safety net, and not a threat, for workers worldwide.

Generative AI is transforming jobs in Latin America, but who benefits, and who gets left behind? Pawel Gmyrek from the ILO and Hernan Winkler from the World Bank join the Future of Work podcast to discuss their research, exploring how AI is reshaping work and its implications for inequality.  

Ekkehard Ernst, author of the ILO report: "World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2025", joins the Future of Work podcast to discuss how geopolitical tensions, climate change, artificial intelligence, and inequalities are affecting global labour markets.

Industrial symbiosis is an approach to the circular economy through which businesses work together to utilize waste and by-products created by their processes in existing and new products, so saving resources and energy. Sabrina de Gobbi, ILO Senior Economist, joins the podcast to discuss what potential it has to ‘green' economies and how we can ensure that the jobs it creates are decent.

How can social protection help those most vulnerable to the worst impacts of climate change? To discuss the issue, we are joined by Kumi Naidoo, a longtime human rights and climate justice activist, and Shahra Razavi, Director of the ILO's Universal Social Protection department.

According to a new ILO report, youth unemployment figures have recovered to pre-pandemic levels, but, in apparent contradiction, young people worldwide are reporting growing anxiety and worry about unemployment and job security. So, what's the real situation for young people entering the labour market?

Competing at the Paralympics requires extraordinary time and dedication, so how do Paralympic athletes balance the demands of sporting excellence with earning a living? To discuss this the ILO's Future of Work podcast is joined by the former Paralympian, Josh Vander Vies and the ILO's expert on athletes and rights at work, Oliver Liang.

The Olympic and Paralympic games are not just major a sporting festival, they are also a massive procurement, construction and employment project. This year, the Paris Games adopted a Social Charter, which links the entire games delivery process with social goals that are inspired by the ILO's decent work agenda.

Running your own business can be a dream, a route to independence and a way out of poverty. But successful entrepreneurship isn't easy, without the right skills and knowledge. An ILO programme - Start and Improve your Business (SIYB) – is helping to bridge that gap and has already helped tens of millions of people become entrepreneurs. Luisa Iachan, ILO Technical Officer on Inclusive Markets and Entrepreneurship Promotion, and South African entrepreneur and SIYB graduate Ngoakwana Seleka share their experiences and knowledge.

The rising temperatures associated with climate change mean more people are experiencing heat stress at work, with potentially fatal consequences. ILO Occupational Safety and Health specialists, Manal Azzi and Halshka Graczyk join the ILO's Future of Work podcast to discuss what is being done to protect workers from the effects of excessive heat.

Ahead of the opening of the 112th International Labour Conference on June 3, the ILO's Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo joins the Future of Work podcast to explain the key social and labour issues on the conference agenda, and why they matter in light of the state of our world today.

In this Future of Work podcast, the ILO's Richard Samans and economic historian Lord Robert Skidelsky discuss how we can begin to transform macroeconomics to deal more effectively with ongoing challenges to social justice, such as inequality, underemployment, precarity and environmental degradation.

Forced labour is not just a brutal abuse of fundamental human rights, but it also generates hundreds of billions of dollars in criminal business profits, according to a new ILO report. We discuss the issue with the report's co-author Michaëlle de Cock and Anousheh Karvar, the French government delegate to the ILO.

For many young people finding that first job can be hard. For those who are also refugees it can seem like an insurmountable challenge. We talk to Mashimbo Rose Nafisa and Joel Amani Mafigi, two young refugees in Uganda who have overcome this problem and are now helping other young people do the same.

February 20th is World Day of Social Justice on the UN calendar. But what is social justice? Why does it matter for the youth in Africa? Discover what the youth believe are the solutions Africa's social injustices and listen to what they say they need to realize their dreams, in their own words.

New research shows that Generative AI tools can substantially increase productivity in certain mid and high-skilled work, like for instance in science, technology, and engineering. So what does this mean for employment, skills and wages?

The ILO's Future of Work podcast looks at trends in digital technologies and their regulation in China, and explores what impact this is having on the country's world of work.

Demand for care already outstrips supply and is expected to increase significantly in the future. Now, new ILO research suggests that spending on care – particularly childcare – could bring a return on investment of more than 3-to-1.

One in five employees will experience mental illness in their lifetime. Find out in the ILO Future of Work podcast, the four steps that employers can take to minimise workplace mental health stresses.

The effects of Generative AI on employment creation and destruction are much discussed, but what will the effects be on job quality, and where will those effects be felt most?

The global population is getting older. At the same time employers complain they can't find the workers or skills they need, and governments worry about funding health care and social protection. On International Day for Older Persons (1 October) we look at whether keeping people in the workforce longer could be an answer.

How would you react to being given money on a regular basis, with no strings attached? And how might this change you, your family or the wider community? This is the question faced by the Kenyan village of Kogutu after being chosen as a location for the largest ever experiment in Universal Basic Income. Filmmakers Lauren DeFilippo and Sam Soko spent five years chronicling the dramatic impact of this experiment on the lives of these villagers to answer the question: is UBI the answer to end world poverty?

Green jobs can help tackle the climate crisis and the labour market challenges faced by young people. So what exactly are green jobs? And what can young people do to create a sustainable future for themselves?

Global crises, conflicts, socio-economic inequalities, migration and the climate emergency are increasing the risk of human trafficking. What can be done, and by whom, to counter this threat?

The world of work has always been shaped by technology, but the new generation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has raised fears that it could destroy tens of millions of jobs, and undermine progress towards decent work and greater social justice.

The summer of 2023 is recording some of the highest temperature on record, for our entire planet. This has enormous consequences for the world of work – regulators and businesses as well as workers. How can we adapt?

Following the COVID-19 pandemic many countries are re-evaluating the status, pay and conditions of their care workers. So, why are domestic workers, whose work often includes care, often being left out of this process?

International labour standards are at the heart of the ILO's mandate and play an essential role in creating fair business competition and combatting work-related exploitation. So, how are they created?

While overt racism in the workplace may be a thing of the past, systemic racism, microaggressions and biases mean it is far from being a level playing field, say the guests of the latest Future of Work podcast.

The latest Future of Work podcast explores the challenges and opportunities of using Artificial Intelligence during the recruitment process.

Artificial intelligence, or AI, isn't a tool for the future, it's already here, creating, destroying and re-shaping jobs and business practices. So how will AI really affect the world of work?

The collapse of the Rana Plaza building in the outskirts of Dhaka on 24 April 2013 resulted in the deaths of over 1,100 people – mostly garment workers – and shone a global spotlight on workplace safety and labour rights in the Bangladesh garment industry. Ten years on, what has changed?

The COVID-19 crisis showed how much we all rely on key workers, yet it also exposed the poor working conditions they often face. How can we ensure that these essential workers are decently treated?

As workplaces transition towards a digital future, we see the gender gap perpetuating itself in the digital realm as well. On International Women's Day, the ILO's ‘Future of Work' podcast explores how can digital technology be harnessed for positive change and more inclusion.

Low levels of productivity are making it more difficult for countries and regions to escape from the current mix of social and economic challenges. How can productivity be improved?

On World Day of Social Justice, the ILO's Director-General, Gilbert F Houngbo, explains why policymakers must prioritize social justice or risk fueling poverty, inequality and social unrest, as well as undermining action against climate change.

Global labour markets are facing serious, interlinked challenges. Issues such as the growth in informality and working poverty, slowing employment growth, the effects of inflation on wages and purchasing power, come on top of longer-term structural challenges such as demographics, technology and climate change. The new ILO report, World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2023 (WESO trends), raises particular concerns about inequality and the effects of the global economic slowdown on the quality of employment. It warns that, left unaddressed, the challenges facing the world of work threaten progress towards social justice.

Working time issues have been at the heart of the ILO since its foundation in 1919. Since then the world of work has changed radically, but ideas about how, where and when work is performed have remained largely the same, notably the long-held assumption of a link between longer hours and greater productivity. A new ILO report on working time and work-life balance has taken a fresh look at the issue, and found that the number of hours worked – whether too many or too few – as well as the schedule under which they are worked can have a significant effect on the health and wellbeing of individuals, their families and societies overall. It dissects the relationship between productivity, working hours and work schedules, and analyses the lessons about flexible working and work-life balance revealed by the COVID-19 crisis.

Migration gives workers in South-East Asia with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expression (SOGIE) the opportunity to seek a better quality of life. However, according to a recent UN study 'A very beautiful but heavy jacket: The experiences of migrant workers with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression in South-East Asia' they experience discrimination at multiple levels. Emily Dwyer, Co-Director of Edge Effect joins us to talk about the complexity of migrant work experiences for people with diverse SOGIE and why it's important to support them.

As we transition to a greener economy, how do we ensure that workers are not left behind? What actions need to be taken to achieve a just transition? COP27, the UN's annual climate change summit, has just wound up in Egypt. The ILO hosted over 40 events there at a Just Transition pavilion, looking at climate change issues related to the world of work. It included the launching of an ILO just transition finance tool on banking and investment. Moustapha Kamal Gueye headed up the ILO delegation to COP27. Just back from Egypt, he discusses the issues at stake on the Future of Work podcast.

In the run up to the FIFA World Cup, the eyes of the world are on Qatar, the first Middle East country to host the global football tournament. Yet much of the scrutiny is directed not at the event's sporting aspects, but rather at the labour rights and working conditions of the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who are involved in readying the infrastructure and services needed to host one of the world's biggest sporting events. The ILO has been closely involved in supporting a wide range of labour reforms in the country, through a technical cooperation programme with the State of Qatar which began in 2018. The programme has seen Qatar undertake comprehensive labour reforms to improve the conditions and rights of migrant workers, through adopting new legislation, introducing new or improved existing labour administration systems, and enhancing labour relations. While this is still a work in progress, and there are gaps in implementation, the reforms have already yielded benefits for workers, employers and the economy more broadly. Max Tuñón, head of the ILO Office in Doha and Chief Technical Adviser of the programme, joins us to discuss the labour reforms in Qatar.

In the run up to the FIFA World Cup, the eyes of the world are on Qatar, the first Middle East country to host the global football tournament. Yet much of the scrutiny is directed not at the event's sporting aspects, but rather at the labour rights and working conditions of the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who are involved in readying the infrastructure and services needed to host one of the world's biggest sporting events. The ILO has been closely involved in supporting a wide range of labour reforms in the country, through a technical cooperation programme with the State of Qatar which began in 2018. The programme has seen Qatar undertake comprehensive labour reforms to improve the conditions and rights of migrant workers, through adopting new legislation, introducing new or improved existing labour administration systems, and enhancing labour relations. While this is still a work in progress, and there are gaps in implementation, the reforms have already yielded benefits for workers, employers and the economy more broadly. Max Tuñón, head of the ILO Office in Doha and Chief Technical Adviser of the programme, joins us to discuss the labour reforms in Qatar.

The career of a professional dancer appears glamorous, but it is also precarious. Dancers begin training intensively when young, when others are focused on studying to get qualifications. Then their professional performance careers are short, even assuming they aren't ended early by accident or injury. So, what happens to dancers when they stop performing? What's it like to have a career that relies heavily on the physical ability of youth, and how easy is it to build a second one? Jennifer Curry, Executive Director of Dancers' Career Development, and William Bracewell, Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet Company, join us to describe the hurdles and opportunities of a career that can end so soon after it starts.

Research by the ILO and the WHO has found that billions of working days – and so billions of dollars - are lost every year because of work-related mental health issues, and they have called for concrete measures to address this growing problem. What are the psychosocial risks associated with modern workplaces, and can we make mentally healthy workplaces the new norm.

Sophie Otiende, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, and Grace Forrest, Founding Director of Walk Free, join the ILO's Future of Work podcast to explore the many reasons for the continued existence of modern slavery and the role we can all play in finally putting an end to it.

August 23 is the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. Slavery is a clear human rights violation that has no place in the modern world! Yet, there are more people in slavery today than at any other time in history. More than 40.3 million people are still in modern slavery, including 24.9 million in forced labour. It means 5.4 victims of modern slavery for every 1,000 people in the world. 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children. That social injustice is at the heart of Wagner Moura's commitment and activism to put an end to forced labour and child labour. The award-winning actor and ILO Goodwill Ambassador (50 for Freedom campaign) grew up in a very poor area in the northeast of Brazil. He saw first-hand the negative impacts of forced labour on a family, a community, a country. “I think that education is the foundation for any sort of social change in the world”, Wagner Moura said. Today he continues to put his time and energy to urge governments to enact and enforce legislation, protect their population, and end slavery in our lifetime. Where does his passion for fighting slavery come from?

From archaeological and heritage sites to conservation parks, and music and cultural festivals, Ethiopia boasts a wide array of tourist attractions. However it lost 70 per cent of tourism revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with massive job losses – a situation that was worsened by the outbreak of war in the north of the country. As part of our August Voices tourism series, we're talking to Tewodros Derbew, strategic team leader and coordinator at the Ministry of Tourism in Ethiopia. He explains the challenges facing the sector, how the country is planning to re-position itself as a major destination through sustainable tourism, and what it means for the world of work.

When Lizzie Pickering's young son Harry died in 2000, she embarked on a journey to understand grief, how to live with it and how to help other people when their life has changed. In this podcast she shares the lessons she's learned from her own experiences and those of others. We will discuss how to adapt to change and continue to work after losses, not only in the event of death, but also in the case of a medical condition, divorce, and a change of job. Is loss only a personal matter or should it be also touched upon at work? What can employers and colleagues do to support people when they are stressed or depressed? Often others want to help but don't know how to deal with strong emotions, leaving those who are suffering to feel alone and frustrated. Are there any guidelines for coping with grief in the workplace? What is the impact of a workplace that handles grief well, as opposed to a workplace that doesn't?

These are uncertain times. Inflation has returned. A post-COVID recovery is under threat. These problems will need innovative solutions. One option attracting attention is the social and solidarity economy, which will be the subject of a discussion at this year's International Labour Conference. The Social and Solidarity economy is sometimes described as a third sector; neither private or public sector enterprises, but an approach in which economic activities and projects are founded on the principle of solidarity. One of the better-known forms of social and solidarity economy activity is the cooperative. These are enterprises that are owned, governed, and run by their members. What are the challenges that cooperatives face in order to operate well? How can cooperatives contribute to building resilient economies?

Does it matter if people are happy at work? Or should they just be satisfied with reasonable pay and conditions and not expect more? It's well-established that happiness is linked to better health and longevity, but an increasing amount of scientific research has found ties with work-related matters like productivity, innovation and staff retention. So, should employers pay attention to staff happiness, and if so, how can they build it?

Each year, discrimination at work around gender identity, ethnicity, disability, race, religion or sexual orientation cost millions of dollars to our national economies and companies. Worse, one-in-four people do not feel valued at work and those who do feel included are in more senior roles, according to a new report on diversity and inclusion by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Today, diversity and inclusion have become new buzzwords in the global agenda. Yet, despite some progress, a lot remains to be done to embed diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the employee lifecycle and drive productivity, profitability, and innovation in businesses. At the same time, the COVID-19 crisis has also demonstrated that inclusion and diversity matter more than ever. Therefore, embracing it as a core value is a must for a sustainable future of work. But what can be done to make this ideal a reality for millions of workers and employers worldwide?