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Policy@Manchester Articles: Work
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Women working from a home office, looking at a monitor, with laptop open to her left.

Working at home or living at work?

Headshot of Afshan Iqbal By Afshan Iqbal Filed Under: All posts, Work Posted: April 30, 2025

Changes in working patterns were accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote and hybrid work arrangements have resulted in expectations on employers to reconsider their business continuity and operational strategies. The impacts of these new working patterns on employees’ physical and mental health are still being explored. In this article, Dr Afshan Iqbal assesses the challenges […]

Tagged With: AMBS, digital, infrastructure, mental health, productivity, welfare, work & pensions

Woman working in a warehouse moving boxes

Employing a fairer system – improving the labour market for vulnerable groups

Jill Rubery By Mat Johnson, Jill Rubery and Eva Herman Filed Under: All posts, UK economy, Work Posted: March 10, 2025

The Employment Rights Bill sets out proposals to strengthen labour market protections, reduce welfare spending and tackle economic inactivity. It is positioned as a mechanism to deliver the broader policy objective to ‘make work pay’, which includes supply-side reforms designed to tackle unemployment and labour market inactivity. In this article, Mat Johnson, Jill Rubery and […]

Tagged With: economy, WEI, welfare, work & pensions

Industrial chimney pluming out smoke surrounded by an urban landscape of buildings.

Advanced materials addressing health risks from exposure to benzene

Headshot of Martin Schröder.Headshot of Sihai Yang. By Martin Schröder and Sihai Yang Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Environment, Health and Care, Health and Social Care, Research and development, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology, Urban, Work Posted: December 2, 2024

Benzene, a volatile organic compound (VOC) with widespread industrial applications, poses severe health risks to humans even at trace levels. Its genotoxic effects, which involve direct damage to cellular DNA and genetic material leading to mutations, are strongly linked to cancer and blood disorders, making its control a critical priority for workplace safety and environmental […]

Tagged With: advanced materials, air quality, cancer, CS-AdvancedMaterials, environment, Health & Safety, innovation, public health, science & engineering, technology, transport, urban

Workers making shoes in a cluttered factory.

Modern slavery and digital technology in ‘Fast Fashion’: the transparency dividend

Dr Jonathan Daves - author headshotRose BroadAuthor photograph By Jonathan Davies, Rose Broad and Amy Benstead Filed Under: All posts, Science and Technology, Work Posted: July 8, 2024

Modern slavery and exploitation are critical challenges in the UK garment manufacturing and fast fashion sectors, which continue to require urgent attention from policymakers and regulatory agencies. Despite the potential for digital technology to enhance supply chain transparency, its effectiveness in mitigating labour exploitation is under-researched and underutilised. In this article, Dr Jon Davies, Professor […]

Tagged With: digital, human rights, inequalities, justice, labour market, technology

Woman holding a baby while working

The Future of Work: Women’s Experiences of Employment in Greater Manchester

Anna SandersRosalind Shorrocks By Anna Sanders and Rosalind Shorrocks Filed Under: All posts, Inclusive Growth, Work, Working Futures Posted: April 10, 2024

Women in Greater Manchester face a range of barriers relating to their employment. As of December 2022, 72% of women in Greater Manchester aged 16-64 were in employment, compared to 80% of men. Women’s economic activity in Greater Manchester is also lower than the national level, where 75% of women aged 16-64 are in employment. Increasing […]

Tagged With: employment, gender inequalities, Greater Manchester, inequalities

Temporary Workers sort asparagus in a production line

Precarious Work: The Consequences for Later Life Security

Kristian Fuzi By Debora Price and Kristian Fuzi Filed Under: All posts, Inclusive Growth, UK economy, Work, Working Futures Posted: March 12, 2024

The concerning trend of precarious work is increasingly the focus of policymakers and researchers. Here, Kristian Fuzi and Professor Debora Price advocate for greater attention to the multiplicity of sectors and the widening age range of the workforce now affected by these working conditions.  Precarious work trends have serious consequences for the financial security of workers […]

Tagged With: communities, economy, employment, gender inequalities, inequalities, labour market

Woman delivering medications

Don’t worry about the future, what about the ‘now of work’?

By Mat Johnson and Eva Herman Filed Under: All posts, Growth and Inclusion, UK economy, Work Posted: March 5, 2024

Amongst all the competing predictions about what the future of work might hold, the challenges of achieving decent work in the foundational economy have been largely overlooked. Here, Dr Mat Johnson and Dr Eva Herman argue that the focus should be on making tangible improvements to the working lives of those in the frontline roles that keep […]

Tagged With: #WorkingFutures, Health & Social Care, labour market, productivity, technology, work & pensions

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Articles give the views of the author, and are not necessarily those of The University of Manchester.

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