Future of work – how has the COVID-19 pandemic re-shaped the agenda?

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries had experienced transformations in their labour and jobs markets as a consequence of technological progress, climate change, globalisation, and shifts in demography. These trends have had an impact on employment relationships and, as a result, on workers’ rights, obligations and security. The onset of COVID-19 in early 2020 produced a set of economic challenges on a scale not seen in decades. A five-year research collaboration between the Smith School of Enterprise at University of Oxford and Zurich Insurance Group shows that the pandemic has accelerated changes in the role of government in insurance provision. The report suggests it is inevitable that the state can no longer be the insurer of last resort, particularly due to rising debt levels. New partnerships should be developed between governments, employers, and benefits providers to protect workers against the enhanced risks of a post-pandemic economy.