The pandemic was an inflection point for commerce and business. Companies had to adapt to new ways of working to stay afloat during the economic slowdown. Using artificial intelligence, diversifying employment models from full-time jobs to gig workers and crowd-sourcing, and moving to flex-work and hybrid workplaces were all part of what has become the new normal. As we have emerged from the pandemic, what are the lasting changes to how we work? How will AI continue to change the work environment? Do the current geopolitical changes and high inflation impact the way we work? How do unions react? Is there a new global labor movement?
On July 10, the American Council on Germany and 1014 will host a virtual discussion on the future of work with Thorben Albrecht, Policy Director of IG Metall and former State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and Dr. Annelise Orleck, Professor of History at Dartmouth College.
Thorben Albrecht currently serves as Policy Director of IG Metall, the German metalworkers’ trade union. He is an internationally recognized expert on the future of work. His expertise includes automation and artificial intelligence, new forms of work, and managing transitions, including skills development, flexibility arrangements, and social dialogue.
From 2017 to 2019, Mr. Albrecht was a member of the Global Commission on the Future of Work established by the International Labor Organization (ILO). He also served as Permanent State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (2014-2018). From 2008 to 2013, he was Head of Office for Andrea Nahles and of the policy department of the Executive Board of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD). Prior to that, he worked for the National Executive Board of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) as Head of the Division responsible for the coordination of European affairs.
Dr. Annelise Orleck is a professor at Dartmouth College, where she focuses on history, politics, activism, American radicalism, race studies, and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. She is the author of several books, including Rethinking American Women’s Activism, Storming Caesars Palace: How Black Mothers Fought Their Own War on Poverty, and Common Sense and a Little Fire: Women and Working Class Politics in the U.S.
