Yesterday we were in Birmingham again with @eyfoundation.bsky.social running pilot interventions with young people from low-income backgrounds. The Motivating Futures workshops are designed to cultivate intrinsic motivation and help young people towards futures of work that align with their values.

We're #hiring! IFOW is looking for a Policy and Public Affairs Lead to build our policy development, advocacy, and external engagement strategy. The role will help shape policy debates, coordinate our parliamentary engagement, and expand IFOW’s influence across the policy ecosystem. Apply below:

Prior to the US-UK tech deal announcements last week, our Co-Director @abbygkgilbert.bsky.social spoke at @cambridgetechweek.bsky.social about the need to manage risks for UK businesses integrating Software as a Service (SaaS) hosted by US big tech into workplaces and systems.

Was so great to be a part of this forum on GenAI and the Novel - really excited to Dr @clemicollett.bsky.social's work published later this year. It's a vital and urgent call for the UK to celebrate and sustain the creative industries - one of the finest jewels in our cultural and economic crown.

A third of UK firms are using 'bossware' to track their employees' work, according to a survey published by @theguardian.com last week, including using 'office snooping' technology to monitor workers' emails, screen activity and web browsing.

So enjoying taking part in the first @digitcentre.bsky.social CoLab Forum. Co-convened with us and @futuredotnow.bsky.social, we're bringing together researchers, civil society, firms and gov to help shape Digit's 5-year research into how the benefits of digital transformation can be shared.

Yesterday, IOFW team members travelled to Birmingham for a stakeholder engagement session hosted by @eyfoundation.bsky.social and West Midlands Combined Authority, to present early findings from our Motivating Futures project. Read our September mid-month spotlight here to find out more:

Exciting to see members of the team in #design #thinking workshops today for Flourish, our development of a new platform helping people access work opportunities in the UK green sector.

As the labour market undergoes rapid changes, as do the skills required by employers from workers. Many young people face significant challenges if they are not equipped with the right skills or opportunities to access good work, as was discussed in the House of Lords earlier this week.

Great to have our co-director Anna Thomas MBE supporting @mctd.bsky.social Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy at Somerset House today, alongside @gaiamarcus.bsky.social, Director of @adalovelaceinst.bsky.social, and Matt Warman, former Digital Minister and UKAI Board Member.

Labour shortages, climate change and crop wastage are contributing to the most challenging period so far in the global agriculture industry. New technologies are being implemented, but more critical analysis is needed to understand the role of humans and robotics in the future of farming.

Great to be spending the day with many of the team focusing on #Design #Thinking and Design #Research, led superbly by Re:Shape Collective - who bring huge experience from work across Arup, social policy design and #UX.

Having admitted that it used pirated works to build its LLM, in "the first class action settlement centered on AI and copyright in the United States", #Anthropic have now agreed to pay compensation to authors. It is unlikely to be the last. www.wired.com/story/anthro...

Last week, Lloyd's Register Foundation released a report examining the potential of new technologies to transform the health and safety of workers. New automated technologies can improve safety by warning workers of nearby hazards and dangers or improving virtual training for emergency situations.

The @wsj.com reported this week on research published by a team of US and Italian academics that concluded that those with lower AI literacy are more likely to "more likely to perceive AI as magical and experience feelings of awe in the face of AI's execution of tasks" www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-a...

A survey by @livingwageuk.bsky.social showed that 3/4 people in the UK have heard of the Living Wage. Building on this, they have announced a new 'Living Hours' campaign, focusing on fair contracts, guaranteed notice periods, and minimum hours: www.livingwage.org.uk/living-hours

Great to see the impacts of AI on Civil Service productivity discussed in @houseoflords.parliament.uk yesterday, with Lord Vallance emphasising the importance of training up public sector workers in generative AI. See Lord Vallance's keynote address at our Pissarides Review conference below:

How are emerging technologies affecting jobs and workers in the UK? Our September newsletter, out today, examines recent evidence on how GenAI pilots might be impacting the labour market. Read more below:

Our September newsletter will be landing in inboxes on Monday - the best digest of all that is happening in the #FutureOfWork space. This month includes a deep dive on data relating to AI and jobs, as well as a top selection of reads and events. Subscribe here:

Delighted to welcome Jack Orlik, Maxwell Ababio, Stephanie Antonian and Oli Whittington as IFOW Fellows of Practice. Complementing our network of Research Fellows, our Fellows of Practice develop interventions to operationalise our findings and work at the frontline of our future of work research.

Regulating new technologies must be about 'anticipating and mitigating risks to our most important resource: the workforce'. We're delighted to see IFOW's Dr Magdalena Soffia commenting on the Lloyd's Register Foundation new report on emerging technologies and workers' health and safety.

IFOW are off to Birmingham! We're really excited to witness the EY Foundation piloting a workshop with young people on the importance of intrinsic motivation as they navigate automised and technologised futures. Read the research in our report 'Motivating Futures' , co-produced with EYF, below:

What are the implications of Emotional Artificial Intelligence monitoring on the human ability to experience genuine and free emotional lives? IFOW Research Fellow Emine Akar's new blog describes the dangers of reducing emotions into data to be 'measured, optimised, and corrected'.

As the largest period of technological transition since industrialisation continues to dawn, we need to widen our view of the risks and opportunities of AI beyond 'robots coming for jobs' Read further in this excellent summary by our Co-Director @abbygkgilbert.bsky.social

Wishing all who are getting results today the very best. The future is still to be created, and we need our young people - from all walks of life - to be central to that. We recently published some work looking at the central place of motivation to this future agency: www.ifow.org/publications...

Great to see our Senior Research Fellow Professor Moore @digigirlz.bsky.social quoted in the Observer on Saturday, discussing the growing dangers of digital profiling in the workplace. Our report 'Data on our minds: Affective computing at work', co-authored by Moore, explores this topic in detail:

In 2021, IFOW published the Good Work Monitor, a detailed regional map that tracks access to #goodwork across all 203 local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales. Each year since then, we've continued to trace national productivity and good work trends. Read our Good Work Monitor 2025 below.

A good chance as August progresses to do some deeper reflection - and this blog piece by @teraallas.bsky.social CBE on the role of management in promoting good work - is great place to start: www.ifow.org/news-article...

For technology to drive better outcomes, users need to be at the heart of its design, development and deployment. IFOW's Flourish connects young people with their skills, green job opportunities and vocational training. Read our blog below for some unanticipated lessons from Flourish in Cornwall.

We're almost halfway through August, so here's a reminder to read the IFOW's most recent monthly newsletter. You'll find a range of research publications and events, covering emotional AI and neurosurveillance, dynamic pricing and algorithms, and dark kitchens and labour exploitation.

Congratulations to all receiving exam results today! With many young people looking towards their futures, our report with the EY Foundation reveals how intrinsic motivation and self-agency are becoming increasingly important for success in this fast-evolving and technologising labour market.

We're hiring! IFOW is looking for a comms and events associate to help us implement and develop our communications strategy, and work across events and comms. More info here on the role, and how to apply: www.ifow.org/news-article...

Published as part of our Pissarides Review, this report delves into how workers are experiencing technological transformation, offering insights for balancing innovation with human-centred approaches.

"Once emotional expressions become a form of data to be measured and ranked, people may begin to perform emotions in strategic ways." Read our new blog post on 'emotional AI' by IFOW research fellow, Emine Akar: www.ifow.org/news-article...

Our firm-level work not only surveyed 1000 UK firms about tech adoption, but also did 12 in-depth case studies of AI and automation, with hundreds of hours of interviews with workers about the impact of these tools on the quality of their work, and on their wellbeing.

In the system-level workstream of our Pissarides Review, we produced the Disruption Index. A powerful tool for policymakers, this - for the first time - mapped progress of technological transformation and 'regional innovation readiness' across England: www.ifow.org/publications...

Today - as part of our look back at reports from our Pissarides Review, funded by the Nuffield Foundation - we're highlighting work from our firm-level research. We surveyed 1000 UK firms about tech adoption, and found how vital HR processes are to sustaining good work:

'Emotional AI' and the wider problem of #Oasis ticket prices... our August newsletter is out now! www.ifow.org/news-articles/august-newsletter

Continuing our daily share of reports from our Pissarides Review, today we're highlighting one of the detailed literature reviews we undertook to support this research - this one focusing on existing knowledge around workplace #automation and #wellbeing: www.ifow.org/publications...

Over the next week we're highlighting reports from our Pissarides Review, funded by @nuffieldfoundation.org, that were released through this major, multi-year project. First up, a brand-new #skills clustering analysis that offers new insights into skills demands: www.ifow.org/publications...

Dynamic pricing isn't just about #Oasis... IFOW Co-Director, Dr @abbygkgilbert.bsky.social has written superb piece for @trustforlondon.bsky.social on greater role algorithms are playing in workplaces - allocating hours, monitoring performance and setting pay. trustforlondon.org.uk/news/not-jus...

Workplace tech monitoring is increasingly focusing on behaviour and activities, building digital profiles that, combined with algorithmic management systems, can lead to bias, as well as impacting wellbeing. Re-flagging this great report from @digigirlz.bsky.social: www.ifow.org/publications...

Great to have our Associate Director, Oliver Nash, quoted in @financialtimes.com today, and in print tomorrow. Closing para from him absolutely right - that sober, cautious analysis is so much needed, as without it we risk stoking the very problem we're looking to solve. www.ft.com/content/99b6...

Last week we launched our Good Work Monitor for 2025, tracking trends in #productivity and six dimensions of #goodwork across all 203 local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales, giving policymakers a lens through which to see progress on the Industrial Strategy: www.ifow.org/resources/th...

Was great to have one of our Trustees, @sanakb.bsky.social on BBC Five Live yesterday with Naga Munchetty discussing the government's MOI with #OpenAI. Getting tech adoption 'right' - especially in the context of the work of government - is crucial, and must be centred on national priorities.

Superb paper by Hong Yu Liu and Prof James Hayton springing from work in the Pissarides Review, funded by @nuffieldfoundation.org. This detailed case-study of robotics adoption explores the deep relational impacts of tech adoption: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

With funding from @nuffieldfoundation.org, we ran the 3-year Pissarides Review into the Future of #Work and #Wellbeing. This project generated a hugely rich series of outputs, which we're keen to highlight. 📌 From our workstream on workers' experience of workplace tech: www.ifow.org/publications...

If you missed the launch of our Good Work Monitor on Tuesday, you can watch the webinar - featuring @teraallas.bsky.social and @fhpitts.bsky.social - here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddTk...

Last week we launched the Stage 1 report of our Motivating Futures project, where we have partnered with the EY Foundation to better understand how young people from low-income backgrounds can - through a focus on #motivation - could access better jobs. Read it here: www.ifow.org/publications...

What role does management play in linking good work, well-being & productivity? New from IFOW, by ESCoE Advisory Board member Tera Allas.⬇️ Read ESCoE work on management practices: tinyurl.com/ysv6dzd5 @pbe.co.uk @ifow.org @productivity.bsky.social