How critical is work for human development?

Sketch: TBS

Work is the defining issue of our time. It is a challenge which society in the world is facing today. The world of work is also changing fast with implications for human development. From a human development perspective, the notion of work is broader and deeper than that of jobs or employment alone. 

Jobs provide income and support human dignity, participation and economic security. But the jobs framework fails to capture many kinds of work that have important human development implications —as with care work, voluntary work and such creative work as writing or painting. 

The link between work and human development is synergistic. Work enhances human development by providing incomes and livelihoods, by reducing poverty and by ensuring equitable growth. Human development—by enhancing health, knowledge, skills and awareness—increases human capital and broadens opportunities and choices. 

But the link between work and human development is not automatic. It depends on the quality of work, the conditions of work, the societal value of work and so on. Whether people have a job is important, as are other issues. For example: Is work safe? Are people fulfilled and satisfied by their work? Are there prospects for advancement? Does employment support a flexible work–life balance? Are there equal opportunities for women and men? 

The quality of work also includes whether a job provides dignity and a sense of pride and whether it facilitates participation and interaction. To strengthen the link with human development, work also has to enhance environmental sustainability. Work strengthens its link with human development when it goes beyond individual benefits to contribute to shared social objectives, such as poverty and inequality reduction, social cohesion, culture and civilisation. 

Conversely, the value of work is diminished and its link with human development becomes weaker when there is discrimination and violence at work. The most observable discrimination is along gender lines—in positions, pay and treatment.  And discrimination also occurs along lines of race, ethnicity, disability. Workplace or occupational violence—in the form of threats and physical or verbal abuse—also weakens the work–human development link. 

The link also weakens in conflict and post-conflict situations. Work under such conditions does not always have a definable content, and human development may entail simple survival. Some work in some conditions damages human development. Many people are in work that restricts their life choices. Millions work in abusive and exploitative conditions that violate their basic human rights and destroy their dignity, such as child labourers, forced labourers and trafficked workers. 

Work in various forms by 7.3 billion people has contributed to the human progress of the world. Nearly a billion people who work in agriculture and more than 500 million family farms produce more than 80% of the world's food, improving nutrition and health. Worldwide, 80 million workers in health and education have enhanced human capabilities. More than a billion workers in services have contributed to human progress. In China and India 23 million jobs in clean energy are increasing environmental sustainability. 

Work has a societal value that goes beyond the gains of individual workers. More than 450 million entrepreneurs are contributing to human innovation and creativity. Some 53 million paid domestic workers are addressing the care needs of people. Care work for children is preparing them for the future. Work that involves caring for older people or people with disabilities is helping them maintain their capabilities. Work by artists, musicians and writers is enriching human lives. More than 970 million people who engage in volunteer activity each year are helping families and communities, building social networks and contributing to social cohesion

But significant deprivations still persist on the job front. With an overall global unemployment rate of about 5%, 186 million people today are out of jobs worldwide. The youth unemployment rate at 12% more than double that the overall jobless rate. Over 240 million workers worldwide live in extreme poverty, earning less than $2.15 per day. Huge human potentials still remain unused. More than 1.5 billion people around the world are in vulnerable employment. 

The world has around 138 million child labourers, some 78 million boys and 59 million girls. In 2024, about 28 million people worldwide were in forced labour, generating about $236 million in profits for the those who bonded them. The number of decent jobs around the world has been shrinking. All these imply that in order to accelerate human progress and to overcome existing human deprivations, the remaining human potentials have to be optimally used.

Furthermore, the world of work is changing fast - with changes in what, when and how of work. The two main drivers of such changes are globalisation and digital revolution. Today the global trade in goods and services stands at $35 trillion, more than double the amount it used to be 10 years ago. There are more than 9 billion mobile subscriptions and more than 6 billion people use the internet worldwide. 

The changing world of work is creating opportunities, but also risks; there are winners as well as losers. In the global value chain of work, 453 million people are engaged, of which 190 million are women. There has never been a better time to be a skilled worker; there has never been a worse time to be an unskilled one. 

Finally, enhancing human development through work would require a set of concrete policy options and an agenda for action. A set of concrete and strategic policy options would have to focus on strategies for creating work opportunities, strategies for workers' well-being in terms of benefits and rights; and strategies for targeted actions for specific groups (e.g. people with disabilities).

There are rooms for some new and innovative policy options. For example, countries may focus on national employment strategies as a centre piece of their development plans. Employment has been out of fashion for quite some time, let us bring it back at the centre of development discourse and development plans. 

For too long, we put our faith in growth-led employment strategies. But that did not happen in many societies; and we have witnessed jobless growth in many economies. So instead of growth-led employment strategies why don't we think of employment-led growth strategies, where productive and remunerative jobs are created where poor people live, which will create demand and lead to more work resulting in an upward spiral of jobs and growth.

Central banks traditionally have inflation targeting as its sole mandate. The central banks around the world may think of dual targeting– inflation targeting as well as employment targeting. If that is done, then monetary policies complement fiscal policies in creating work.

Flexible work arrangements, parental paternal leave can contribute to women's participation in the labour market. Similarly, fit of the future learning would be required employing younger people as work of the future cannot be performed with knowledge of yesterday. If six countries in the world – Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, South Africa and the United States devote only 1.2% of their GDP every year, 14 million new jobs can be created in the renewable energy sector.

Today, we live in an unequal, unstable and unsustainable world. The sources for instability may come from different sources, ranging from natural disasters to economic and financial crisis to violent extremism.  In coming years, shocks and vulnerabilities would be the norm, rather than an exception. And the unsustainable nature of the coping capacity of our planet is being discussed widely. 

Work can contribute to overcoming these challenges. But that work has to be quality work, sustainable work, work that contributes to equality, rather than creating inequality, work that respects workers' rights and ensures their safety.

Selim Jahan is former director of Human Development Report Office and Poverty Division, UNDP