TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
The uncertainties in today’s employment landscape
Workforce formalization, while neither a holistic nor one-size-fits-all solution, is becoming increasingly part and parcel of social investment strategies to resolve issues related to meaningful work and decent living standards.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Valuing waste: Workers sort plastic mineral water bottles at a plastics recycling factory in Tangerang, Banten, on Aug. 5, 2022.
(AFP/Adek Berry )
I
n the second week of June, I attended the 20th East Asian Social Policy (EASP) Research Network Conference, a leading policy conference in both the Asian region and the world. The conference discussed social policy issues ranging from digital transformation and environmental concerns to demographic shifts, issues that have increasingly challenged the sustainability of social protection systems in various East Asian countries and beyond.
The presentation by Prof. Yasuhiro Kamimura from Japan’s Nagoya University provided insights on the uncertainties of today's employment landscape.
Kamimura outlined four job typologies based on his research findings.
The first typology of decent work represents the ideal form of formal employment. It is characterized by job security, social protections, specifically health and income protection, and meaningful work.
The term "meaningful" is subjective, but broadly refers to employment that is not only desired but also fulfilling and valued by the worker.
This concept of work sounds appealing, doesn't it?
However, the reality often falls short of this ideal. The formal sector, long coveted by many job seekers, still grapples with issues of alienation, where numerous employees find that their roles lack meaning.
