GCRI · Future of Work and Skills

Social science of work

Social and behavioural science studies how workers experience change, how firms adopt technology, and how social dialogue shapes outcomes. In this field it supplies surveys, qualitative research and participatory methods on job quality, training and transitions.

01Register

Social science of work on the record.

Method recordSTEM method
  1. MethodSocial and behavioural science
  2. Applied inFuture of Work and Skills
  3. Canonical pageSTEM Commons
02Application

What social and behavioural science does here.

Social and behavioural science studies how individuals, groups and institutions think, act and organise. It explains vulnerability, risk perception, compliance and collective response to shocks. In work and skills, society and human development and artificial intelligence, social science identifies who is exposed and less able to cope, and why warnings are or are not acted upon. It informs equitable design of policies and interventions across interconnected risks. The canonical description is on the STEM Commons.

Job quality surveys

Working conditions surveys measure pay, intensity, autonomy, security and wellbeing, showing how job quality changes with technology and contracts.

Social dialogue studies

Research documents how unions and employers negotiate technology introduction and with what results for workers.

Learner experience research

Interviews and surveys with adult learners identify barriers to training and what helps them complete it.

03Monitor

Survey analysis.

The screen a team would use to follow this method: its measures, states and decisions. Names are examples and values are illustrative.

Survey analysis

Future of work · Social science of work · Run R-4616

Estimates stableGCRI · Future of Work and Skills

Estimates

robust standard errors

Task exposure to automation0.300.07[−0.3, 0.7]Yes
Vacancy-to-unemployed ratio0.360.03[−0.3, 0.6]No
Training participation−0.140.04[−0.6, 0.7]Yes
Occupational injury rate0.040.16[−0.2, 1.0]No

Method card

Method
Social and behavioural science
Sample
5598 obs
Design
stratified, weighted
Label
MODELLED

Residuals by group

Survey analysis: the screen’s structure, terms and states for Future of work.Example names and illustrative values; a design, not a record or a live system.
04Data

What the method consumes.

Datasets and records used by social and behavioural science on this platform, with the role each plays and the label its values carry. Sources are listed in the source register.

DataRoleLabel
Working conditions surveysJob qualityREPORTED
Collective agreementsNegotiated outcomesDECLARED
Learner surveysBarriersREPORTED
05Methods and evidence

How social science of work is modelled, measured and tested.

The model, its assumptions, its data and its uncertainty, in the form a scientist or engineer would check. Structures follow published methods. The values drawn are illustrative, not findings.

Model, equations and assumptions

The model structure used for social science of work, the assumptions it makes and how each is tested.

Risk of element iRi = f(Hi, Ei, Vi, Ci)hazard, exposure, vulnerability and coping capacity
Expected annual lossEAL = ∑k pk · Lkover events k with annual probability pk
Coupled systemsxt+1 = A xt + B ut + εtA carries the couplings, u the shock, ε the error
AssumptionWhy it is madeHow it is tested
Hazard and exposure are independent within an eventKeeps the loss integral tractableCompare with a copula fit on joint records
Couplings are linear near the operating pointLets shocks propagate through APerturb beyond the linear range and compare
Vulnerability curves transfer between placesLocal curves are rarely availableValidate against observed losses where they exist
Inputs
versioned datasets with provenance
Outputs
distributions, never single numbers
Code
released with the model card and tests
Reproduction
same data, code, environment and seed
Standard risk and state-space formulations; the assumptions listed are typical of the method, stated for review, not results.
FAIR guiding principles · GO FAIR and FORCE11W3C PROV · World Wide Web ConsortiumGuidance on consistent treatment of uncertainties · IPCCCEOS Analysis Ready Data · Committee on Earth Observation Satellites
06Validation

How results are checked.

Findings are tested through replication, triangulation of methods and pre-registered designs. Measurement instruments are checked for reliability and validity.

CheckHow it is done
Ethics reviewResearch with workers passes ethics review and protects confidentiality
Sample coverageSurveys include informal and platform workers where possible
TriangulationFindings are compared across methods

Behaviour is context dependent and may change under stress. Self-reported data carry recall and social desirability biases.

07Process

How the process runs.

Process

Social science of work: PRISMA 2020 review reporting

PRISMA 2020 is a reporting guideline for systematic reviews; the steps follow its checklist, not a mandated sequence, and no Nexus document adopts it.

  1. 01 Plan

    1. 01Registration and protocolRecord · The review teamThe guideline asks for registration details, access to the protocol and any amendments.
    2. 02Eligibility criteriaRecord · The review teamThe guideline asks for the inclusion and exclusion criteria and how studies were grouped.
  2. 02 Find and select

    1. 03Search: sources and strategiesStep · The review teamThe guideline asks for the information sources and the full search strategies. It does not fix which sources are used.
    2. 04Selection of studiesStep · The review teamThe guideline asks how studies were judged eligible, including how many reviewers screened. It does not fix the number of reviewers.
    3. 05Flow diagramRecordThe flow diagram shows the number of records found, the number of studies included and the reasons for exclusion.
  3. 03 Analyse

    1. 06Data collectionStep · The review teamThe guideline asks how data were collected from reports and which data items were sought.
    2. 07Risk of biasStep · The review teamThe guideline asks for the methods and tools used to assess risk of bias.
    3. 08SynthesisModel · The review teamThe guideline asks for the effect measures and the synthesis methods. It does not prescribe meta-analysis.
    4. 09Certainty of evidenceStep · The review teamThe guideline asks for the methods used to assess certainty, and reports the result per outcome. It does not name a grading scale.
  4. 04 Report

    1. 10Review reportRecordThe guideline helps authors report why the review was done, what they did and what they found.

ReportsOutline of an externally published reporting guideline, not a Nexus process and not a record of operation. PRISMA 2020 mainly covers reviews of intervention effects. No Nexus page names it. Every programme is at service level R0.

09Stewardship

Who maintains the method.

Society and Human Development stewards social and behavioural science for the Consortium and reviews how it is applied across platforms.

11Questions

Questions and answers.

What are the limits of social and behavioural science in this field?
Behaviour is context dependent and may change under stress. Self-reported data carry recall and social desirability biases.
How are results checked?
Findings are tested through replication, triangulation of methods and pre-registered designs. Measurement instruments are checked for reliability and validity.
Are the values on this page real?
The data names, roles and checks are real descriptions of practice. The canvas shows a design of the method’s use, not a run; no result is reported here.
Where else is this method applied?
The canonical method page lists every platform that applies it.
ReportsContribute

Contribute evidence from this page.

Reports is the Consortium’s quarterly publication. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work.

GCRIFuture of Work and SkillsForesight OutlookEvidence Brief
Future of Work and Skills

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