Work in the Face of Demographic and Technological Shocks

In 1930, John Maynard Keynes looked forward for his grandchildren to an age of leisure and a fifteen-hour working week. If his predictions have not turned out to be true 85 years later, what can we look forward to for our grandchildren in 20, 50 or even 100 years’ time?

Some parameters, such as population, are already predictable. In Western countries, medical and social advances have resulted in a lengthening of life spans and an ageing of the population which is disrupting the traditional model of work with respect to both supply and demand.

Others are still debatable such as technical progress. The new technologies have revolutionised work and our societies, but will this
third industrial revolution be the last? Are we at the peak of technical progress or on the contrary at the beginning of a new era in which technology rules?

In this context, asking the question of the future of work for our grandchildren is to pose the question about their future needs and of those of 9 billion individuals. How can firms and States plan ahead? How can we avoid breaks? What can we expect?