Platform work is still marginal in the Nordic countries, but whilst offering promising prospects for innovation and growth, it may, if it gains momentum, also engender disruptive change in parts of the labour market.
Its future path of evolution depends, amongst others, on the regulative responses of governments and social partners, and on the platforms’ ability to construct business concepts that not only meet the expectations of customers but also those of the workforce and the wider society.
Given the Nordic labour markets’ historical capacity for adjustment to change, one can indeed envisage paths of evolutionary change whereby platform work is incorporated into the associational institutions of the Nordic model, but alternative paths where platforms serve as engines for further disorganization, externalization of work, and risk for more inferior work environments appear equally plausible.
In this pillar, we will study the further spread and evolution of platform work, employment relations, and regulative, institutional responses in the Nordic countries in the context of evolving EU regulations.
Kristin Jesnes, Researcher, Fafo