The Future of Work: Promoting Dignity and Human Flourishing

The dignity of work has been recently emphasized from secular (Pirson, 2017, Donaldson and Wash, 2015) and religious (Sison et al., 2016) perspectives. However, in practice, this dignity is not always respected, either for cultural reasons (e.g., Mahalingam et al. 2019) or as a consequence of certain premises adopted by social science (Agassi, 1986), including a reductionist economic view of business (Ghoshal 2005).

The dignity of work is associated with human dignity, a concept with a long history that begins prior to the Renaissance period up to contemporary declarations of human rights, through Kant and the Illustration, and personalist philosophers. In addition to the objective character of dignity, a subjective meaning of dignity has been introduced by organizational psychology (Lucas, 2017). Despite these efforts, a sound theory of workplace dignity (Thomas and Lucas, 2019) is still missing. We welcome contributions that are built on solid epistemological, anthropological and ethical grounds.

Respecting the dignity of work has many practical implications, including subjective factors (meaningful work, autonomy, respect) and objective factors (job security, financial reward, equality of opportunity, and safe and healthy working conditions) (Bolton, 2007). Labor rights are an appropriate response to the human dignity of workers, although they may not exhaust the demands of dignity regarding labor (Gilabert, 2006). Fostering professional and human development (Melé & Dierksmeier, 2012) or respecting spirituality at the workplace (Melé & Fontrodona, 2016) are also relevant aspects related to human dignity. These topics allow both empirical and conceptual contributions.

In some environments, and particularly in developing countries, working conditions are still deplorable (Arnold & Bowie 2007) and far from being “decent work,” which  has been advocated by the International Labor Organization (ILO) since the end of the 20th century, and is now included among the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (United Nations, 2015). Decent work is a comprehensive concept that refers to labor rights but that may also include other aspects (Benedict XVI 2005, n. 63). Many of the other SDGs have a direct or indirect reference to decent work. Therefore, work is a transversal concept that may be used to evaluate the implementation and achievement of the 2030 Agenda. In the current context, issues related to safety and healthy environments have become especially relevant.

Virtues can be related to meaningful work and behavior (Beadle & Knight, 2012). Virtues are central to human flourishing (Fontrodona and Sison, 2015) and a significant number of virtues apply to human work. Relevant virtues for work include industriousness, diligence, courage, order, constancy, self-discipline, humility, magnanimity, companionship and concern for other people, among many others. Some of these have been studied, but many others require further examination, including their relevance for the future of work.

New technologies and Industry 4.0 generate or favor new working conditions, which call for a careful analysis from the perspective of work dignity and human flourishing. New technologies may destroy jobs and create new ones (Schwab, 2017; Baldassari and Roux, 2017; Rainnie and Dean, 2020). Industry 4.0 will alter the landscape for talent development (Karacay, 2018) and will require improvements in work conditions, work performance and work relationships (Caruso, 2018). An analysis of abuses and lack of respect for human dignity in the context of new technologies may be a good contribution. Discussions of business responsibilities and positive practices are also welcome.

Unemployment is a persistent problem in many countries, and this has only increased with the pandemic. It implies not only a cost for societies in economic terms, but, most significantly, it causes individual suffering, a loss of personal dignity and is a source of social unrest (Jahoda, 1982). Moreover, income inequality has grown in most industrialized countries, in addition to developing ones, in recent decades (Franzini, 2019). Today, having a job does not guarantee sufficient income and avoidance of social exclusion. Those situations require not only a responsible action by business but also initiatives by public policymakers. Today, for example, there is an open discussion around a universal basic income (Widerquist & Lewis, 2017). Contributions on the effectiveness and ethical aspects of such experiences are welcome.

Work ethics – understood as a set of values related to hard work, discipline, and frugality – has often been associated with the term “the Protestant Work Ethic” or, more specifically, “the Calvinist work ethic.” However, the concept of work ethics, with these or similar values, is a feature of other traditions and cultures. For instance, there are references to Islamic work ethics (Ahmad & Owoyemi, 2012) and Confucian work ethics (Yeh and Xu, 2010). These value systems deserve to be explored, particularly in the context of an increasingly global world. A possible approach is to evaluate these lists of values in the light of intrinsic human dignity and ponder how these values concur, or do not, with human flourishing.

Common human dignity requires a respectful treatment of diversity (based on gender, age, ethnicity, disabilities or any other dissimilarities among the workforce), positing the ethical challenge to overcome unfair discrimination and notorious inequalities at the workplace. Moreover, there are many positive aspects of diversity in the workplace that should be highlighted and promoted (Foma, 2014; Chrobot-Mason & Aramovich, 2013). Beyond current organizational studies, more work is required to conceptualize diversity from an ethical perspective (e.g., Frémeaux, 2020) and implement ethical practices on diversity at the workplace (e.g., Ng and Sears, 2020).

Work can empower women, as well as other socially marginalized groups. This challenge is particularly significant in developing societies, where women do much of the work; enabling them to run their businesses and become part of the cash economy, through such techniques as microfinance, can be a powerful force for liberation and proper education of the next generation (Cornwall, 2016; Karwati et al., 2018).

Work-family balance plays an important role in individual and organizational well-being, and also for societies at large. There is abundant literature on balancing work and family responsibilities, which generally emphasize negative or problematic aspects from psychological and organizational perspectives (Marchese et al. 2002). However, there is a growing interest in more positive views, such as “Work-Family Enrichment” (Greenhaus & Powell, 2006; Shein & Chen, 2010), whereby experience or participating in one role increases the quality of performance in the other.

The purpose of business is under discussion. The importance given to work can vary, depending on how purpose is defined: from approaches that give work a more instrumental character to other proposals that relate work to the common good of the firm (Sison & Fontrodona, 2012; Pinto Garay, 2015). Companies with a social purpose may give more importance to work. On the other hand, as the self-employed sector is growing, work orientation, job content, and well-being may differ between self-employed and organizationally employed workers (Warr & Inceoglu, 2018). Especially in developing countries, but also in new forms of business, artisan work highlights the vocational sense of craftmanship (Pantea, 2019). Theoretical contributions on the purpose of business and practical experiences in new forms of business related to work are welcome.

The symposium will take place in 2021 and this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Encyclical letter Laborem Exercens by John Paul II (1981), an important milestone in the ethics of work. This document places a strong emphasis on the dignity of work and human flourishing and provides solid motives for meaningful work. Some concepts and ideas on work raised by the text may shed light on ongoing discussions in our current context and, more specifically, in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Melé, 2020). Among other topics, this document deals with the subjective dimension of work, the inherent dignity of all work, work alienation, work and family life, primacy of work over capital, human rights in the context of labor and spirituality at the workplace (Melé, forthcoming). Philosophical and theological perspectives on human work and practical aspects within the organization and the socio-economic context are welcome.

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