Project description
New tool to assess occupational insecurity
Advanced technologies have captured the world with new tools and applications – from driverless vehicles to unmanned drones. The promise of these new technologies will lead to changes in employment – from the creation of new jobs to the disappearance of old ones. This labour reallocation gives rise to a new phenomenon termed occupation insecurity, which is people’s perceived fear that they may not be able to remain in paid employment in their current occupation or that their occupation will change significantly due to technological advancements. To-date, the research community is lacking an empirically validated assessment tool to examine the phenomenon. The EU-funded INCISIVE project will develop and validate a scale to measure occupation insecurity in three languages. Results will highlight the implications of occupation insecurity for employees, its interaction with the challenge of population ageing, and prompt future intervention research in support of the EU’s working population.
Objective
Driverless cars on the roads, packages delivered by drones and robot lecturers–these prospects give rise to worry that occupations may disappear or significantly change. Despite the increasing prevalence of occupation insecurity in Europe and worldwide, there is no clear conceptualization and both academics and practitioners lack a measurement tool.
The aims of INCISIVE are one) to provide a clear definition of the phenomenon, considering interdisciplinary perspectives from both organisational psychology and gerontology as well as gender aspects, and two) to develop an assessment tool for occupation insecurity, which will be validated across three European languages (i.e. English, French and Dutch). This will allow researchers to establish a nomological network of the concept and provide practitioners with an assessment tool to implement appropriate interventions to support Europe’s working population.
INCISIVE’s objectives address the timely issue of occupation insecurity, including dissemination of findings to the research community and engagement of a broad public audience with the aim of supporting people in the changing world of work. INCISIVE’s work plan includes bi-directional transfer between myself, KU Leuven and my secondment host, the University of Oxford. Both KU Leuven and Oxford will provide me with a stimulating and international scientific environment, access to resources and specific training, such as advanced methodology and project management skills. Through these, INCISIVE will allow me to reintegrate myself as a researcher in Europe and enhance my career prospects within the EU to undertake higher risk research in the future and impact European science-based knowledge.
Fields of science
- social sciencessociologyindustrial relationsautomation
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringroboticsautonomous robots
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementemployment
- social sciencessociologysocial issuesunemployment
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
3000 Leuven
Belgium