Public narratives about work remain anchored in the past. They are disconnected from the reality of Industry 4.0, influenced by the technological revolution and the extension of human longevity. It is urgent to connect with the 21st century.

By Martin Padulla for staffingamericalatina

In several countries in our region, there have been or are ongoing debates about labor reforms.

The possibility of a public discussion with freedom and democracy that leaves behind decades of backwardness is in itself a positive event.

These debates are auspicious and essential: the anachronism of our regulatory systems is overwhelmingly evident. Most of these frameworks only contemplate the Second Industrial Revolution, the advent of electricity, and the possibility of mass production. They have an industrial vision. They do not take into account the impacts of the Third Industrial Revolution and information technologies, let alone the impacts of the Fourth, with digitalization and transformations at exponential speed.

The diagnosis is clear, and the possibilities of leaving behind decades of backwardness are enormous.

However, when a deep analysis of the content of the debates in parliaments is made, the smile turns into a grimace. In most cases, modernization only comes to settle 20th-century debts. Indeed, those who have the possibility of building regulatory frameworks seem to clearly visualize the impacts of the advent of computers, information technologies, and automation in the world of work, but they do not seem to consider the true metamorphosis produced by the accelerated digitalization caused by the pandemic.

A metamorphosis is formed from a surprising, radical morphological and structural change. A mutation that has no return. A change that implies other needs, other functionalities, and other approaches. We are facing a completely different configuration of the world of work. We are facing a scenario with less employment and more work. It is essential to change the approach.

Insisting on making modifications from past categories may temporarily improve the situation but does not solve underlying problems that require urgent social innovation.

Our region must solve concrete problems such as informality, unemployment, and exclusion. As I write these lines, the 112th International Labour Conference of the ILO is taking place. Concepts such as decent work and social justice resonate in Geneva. We are witnessing a recurring debate on fundamental principles and rights at work; at times more in a political debate format than in a social dialogue format. In the first mode, historical references to a world that no longer exists seem to go against the real world, the exponential speed of the 4.0 metamorphosis.

Debating and demanding desirable concepts from obsolete theoretical frameworks does not bring us closer to the solution.

When we think about what kind of work we want, we must inevitably ask ourselves at what point in our lives we ask that question. Life has stages, cycles. The present and desirable future of work is that of various forms of work that consider those cycles, providing equal opportunities and freedom of choice for all, throughout life. One that contemplates transitions and the need to learn to unlearn and relearn.

It is a concept of work associated with a different set of rights: portable, flexible, and individual. Functional to career paths that will develop under different formats, from different countries, and at different times in life. Economies, organizations, and people need to harness all the potential of talent to be able to develop. They need spaces and instruments to learn throughout life. Disruptive pension systems that address the particularities of the metamorphosis.

Latin America has extremely high rates of informality, serious employability problems, and unacceptable levels of exclusion observable just by walking its streets. In this context, basic initiatives such as the ratification of ILO Convention 181 to connect public and private employment services are conspicuously absent. At times, the disconnection between public narratives and reality is alarming.

Like Penelope, some continue to wait for a past that will not return. Others, like Pyrrhus, celebrate that flexible forms of formal employment validated over half a century ago in the most dynamic, formal, and modern labor markets in the world are not prohibited. Both seem far from the metamorphosis.

Penelope. Clinging to a work idea functional to the first half of the last century seems to be the best recipe for deepening the lack of competitiveness and social degradation.

Pyrrhic victories. Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, achieved a victory over the Romans that cost him thousands of his men. It is said that upon contemplating the result of the Battle of Asculum, he said: “With another victory like this, I am lost.” It is not enough to modernize; it is not enough to settle 20th-century debts. Time is running out, and with it goes the demographic bonus.

In a context of metamorphosis, the search for reforms must be permanent. Not understanding this is not grasping the magnitude of the problem and the magnitude of the opportunities of work 4.0.

Opportunities. That’s what it’s about. The region faces unique opportunities. It can be a protagonist in the world of work 4.0.

It would be very good if, for once, we miss the opportunity to miss opportunities. For too long, the narratives have debated the past. It’s time to think and build a future that includes everyone; to not squander opportunities for development.

It is imperative to realize that, probably, not many more opportunities remain.

Photo of Håkon Grimstad in Unsplash