‘Work not as usual’: work and industrial relations in a post-COVID world

ABSTRACT

This article introduces the Labour & Industry special issue on ‘work not as usual’, following the theme of the 2022 AIRAANZ Conference. In introducing the articles published in the special issue, it examines key themes regarding how work and industrial relations are changing in unusual ways. These relate to the impacts of COVID-19; how work and industrial relations are shifting in the public sector and in the care economy; and how workers and organisations are responding to changes at work through voice, control and resistance. Analysis of these developments in the articles published in this special issue suggest that organisations and labour markets will continue to be defined by ‘work not as usual’ into the foreseeable future.

KEYWORDS:

• Care work
• COVID-19
• industrial relations
• neoliberalism
• public sector
• worker voice

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Isabella Dabaja

Isabella Dabaja is a PhD candidate in the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School. Her research focuses include new public management, labour process theory and control and resistance in public sector managerial work.

Daniel Dinale

Daniel Dinale is a post-doctoral researcher based at the University of Sydney node of CEPAR. He received his PhD degree from Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School. His doctoral thesis focused on cross-national patterns of female employment, motherhood and public policy regarding the reconciliation of employment and family. The thesis applied comparative institutional analysis to explain why the relationship between female labour force participation and fertility rates is now positive in post-industrial nations.

Lisa Gulesserian

Lisa Gulesserian is a PhD candidate and sessional lecturer at the University of Sydney Business School. Her thesis “Rideshare fathers, flexible work and gender roles” explores men, flexible work, platform work and fatherhood in Australia. Lisa’s areas of research interest are gender equality, the platform economy, paid and unpaid work, the mature workforce, and leave policy.

Chris F Wright

Chris F Wright is an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney Business School where he researches and teaches comparative industrial relations, labour market policy, labour migration and skills.