RO1: to elaborate a theoretical framework for a better understanding of migrants´ online employment;
RO2: to investigate UWRs´ digital employment experiences in Romania to granularly define their real and potential activities and occupations, assess their working conditions, and identify issues of concern as well as of progress;
RO3: to explore the extent to which digital work can create new employment opportunities for other vulnerable groups.
Summary
In recent years, the world has been confronted with many crises that have changed the traditional approaches to life and work. The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, quarantines and self-imposed isolation pushed millions around the world to study, work and socialise via digital platforms. The war in Ukraine has forced many Ukrainian women to flee their homeland, making remote work their only means of accessing employment, whether with their previous employer or by finding new jobs online (hereinafter called digital work). These two crisis scenarios prove the urgent need for the EU to advance the process of labour market digitalization in order to build a more resilient society in the face of current and future crises, with new opportunities for growth, sustainability, and job creation and a better use of the available global talent pool (e.g. including refugees and immigrants). However, making this change requires transformative and evidence-based policies that will help the EU to embrace a more sustainable path and ensure an effective, comprehensive, and resilient digital work approach during and after a crisis. To address this gap, the project @Work: Resilient societies in the wake of persistent crises. A case study of Ukrainian women refugees’ digital work is proposed.
