Unskilled or simple work in Services

Edited by Guido Becke and Peter Bleses

Nearly one-fifth of all employed individuals in Germany are engaged in unskilled or simple work, meaning they perform job activities that do not require a relevant professional qualification. Today, the majority of those in unskilled or simple work are employed in the service sector. For a long time, labour research has predominantly focused on skilled work and (highly) qualified salaried employment. Research findings on unskilled or simple work have primarily addressed the production sector, with significantly less attention paid to the service sector. In the latter, diverse landscapes of unskilled or simple work can be observed — for example, in social and health-related services (such as care assistants and support staff), logistics and delivery services, retail, cleaning services, and public administration. Workers in simple or unskilled work often provide essential societal services, yet the complex demands of their work — such as those related to emotional labour — are frequently invisible and, as a result, receive insufficient social recognition.

Unskilled or simple work in the service sector, despite its diversity, faces structural challenges arising from factors such as the digitalization of work, the precariousness of employment, a lack of social recognition, and the relatively high psycho-physical vulnerability of workers. At the same time, unskilled or simple work in the service sector is also viewed as a potential reservoir for addressing the shortage of skilled labour, for instance through labour market policies promoting competence development and qualification.

This special issue aims to sharpen the focus on the varied landscapes of unskilled or simple work in the service sector. 
It seeks to bring greater attention from the perspectives of labour research and labour policy to the diversity of simple or unskilled work and its challenges in services, in order to identify pressing needs for action in labour and health policy.
In this context, we particularly welcome empirical contributions addressing the following thematic areas related to unskilled or simple work in the service sector:

• Unskilled or simple service work from the perspective of social and health inequalities, including labour and
  social policy intervention approaches
• Social and health-related vulnerability of this employee group in service jobs
• Social mechanisms and processes that contribute to the invisibility of unskilled or simple service work and
  its job demands
• Recognition and interest representation of this employee group
• Competence development and qualification within unskilled or simple service work, and pathways toward
  qualified occupational careers
• Career biographies, including breaks and continuities among workers in simple or unskilled services
• Methodological and conceptual particularities in researching unskilled or simple work in services
  (in comparison to skilled work)

Submission of contributions
Authors who would like to contribute an essay should send a short outline of their planned contribution (approximately half a page) to the editors as soon as possible, but no later than 1st October 2026 – Guido Becke (becke@uni-bremen.de) und Peter Bleses (pbleses@uni-bremen.de) – as well as the editor, Mareike zum Felde (vaw@uni-bremen.de). Feedback will be provided within one month.

We accept contributions in English and German. The final manuscripts, which should not exceed a total length of 10 to 15 pages (30,000 to 40,000 characters, including spaces but excluding the abstract), must be submitted in their first draft by 1st of March 2027. This will be followed by a peer review and revision process consisting of a maximum of two stages. Texts can only be submitted in Word format. Illustrations must be submitted as separate files in reproducible quality. The volume ,Unskilled or simple work in services’ (Einfacharbeit in Dienstleistungen) of the Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeits- und Wirtschaftsforschung (Quarterly Journal of Labour and Economic Research) is scheduled to be published at the end of September 2027. 

 

About the Quarterly Journal of Labour and Economic Research – Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeits- und
Wirtschaftsforschung (VAW) The Quarterly Journal of Labour and Economic Research

https://www.duncker-humblot.de/zeitschrift/vierteljahreshefte-zur-arbeits-und-wirtschaftsforschung-vaw-30 address current important topics in economic policy and labour market development and examine them from an applied scientific perspective.

In line with this guiding principle, the VAW brings together analyses from application-oriented research on labour and economic policy ‘construction sites’ and key issues for the future in a thematic volume. German-speaking and international researchers have their say. In addition to its application and practical orientation, the journal is also committed to the goals of plurality, knowledge transfer and relevance. Following in the tradition of the former Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, the Quarterly Journal of Labour and Economic Research (VAW) aims to provide guidance on complex economic policy issues.

Work-related topics such as labour demand, education and training, and specific aspects of human resources policy are considered, as are financial and transformation issues. The aim for the future is to continue to highlight new perspectives and practical solutions in these areas.

A particular incentive for publication in the VAW for some may be that, thanks to funding from the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, it will be published in diamond open access from 2025 onwards. This means that there are no costs for authors and the articles are freely available to readers.

Labour Migration and Labour Market Integration in Germany and Poland Institutional Frameworks, Governance Models and Integration Trajectories in Comparative Perspective

Link: Call for Papers, Vol. 4, Issue 2 Quarterly Journal of Labor and Economic Research

Edited by Mareike zum Felde (mareike.zumfelde@suub.uni-bremen.de); René Böhme (rene.boehme@uni-bremen.de) and Aleksandra Gawel (Aleksandra.Gawel@ue.poznan.pl)

Labour migration has become one of the central issues in contemporary labour market and social policy debates in Europe. Against the backdrop of demographic change, structural transformation and growing labour shortages, the immigration of workers has increasingly moved into the focus of economic and labour market policy strategies. At the same time, migration is not solely the result of political steering or targeted recruitment programmes. It is also shaped by geopolitical crises, global inequalities and forced displacement, which generate new dynamics of labour migration. In many cases, forced migration and labour migration intersect, for instance when refugees increasingly enter labour markets after their arrival.

Germany and Poland offer a particularly insightful comparison for analysing these developments, as both countries have different historical traditions of migration and migration policy. While Germany has gradually developed into a major destination country for migration since the post-war recruitment programmes, Poland was for a long time primarily characterised by emigration, particularly following EU enlargement in 2004.
In recent years, however, these roles have partly shifted. Poland has increasingly become an important destination country for migration itself, particularly for workers from Ukraine and other Eastern European countries. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has further intensified these developments and highlighted the close interconnection between forced migration and labour market integration. At the same time, Germany has pursued a more active policy of attracting international skilled workers. Meanwhile, migration policy debates and reforms in recent years have increasingly been shaped by questions of migration control, regulation and limitation. Both countries there- fore face similar challenges: integrating migrants into labour markets, institutions and broader social structures – albeit under different institutional and political conditions.

Against this background, this special issue focuses on labour migration and labour market integration from a German–Polish comparative perspective. Particular attention will be paid to institutional frameworks, labour market policy strategies, employers’ recruitment practices, as well as the experiences and agency of migrants themselves.
The aim of the special issue is to contribute to a better understanding of the conditions for successful labour market integration in different institutional contexts through empirical analyses, comparative perspectives and theoretical reflections. The German–Polish comparison is intended not only to identify similarities and differences, but also
to highlight opportunities for mutual learning and for the further development of migration and labour market policies.

Contributions may address the following questions, among others (the list is not exhaustive). We welcome both analyses focusing on Germany or Poland individually as well as contributions adopting an explicitly comparative perspective:

• Conceptual and definitional questions: How is labour migration defined and distinguished from other forms of migration, particularly forced migration? How can successful labour market integration be conceptualised and measured?
• Comparative labour market integration: What similarities and differences can be observed in the labour market integration trajectories of migrants in Germany and Poland?
• Sectoral dynamics: How do working conditions, employment patterns and integration opportunities of migrants differ across economic sectors?
• Employer strategies and labour demand: What motivates employers to recruit migrant workers, and what strategies do they adopt?
• Recognition and utilisation of qualifications: What institutional and practical barriers exist regarding the recognition of foreign qualifications?
• Gender and social inequalities: What role do gender, qualification levels and regions of origin play in shaping labour market opportunities and mobility?
• Migrant perspectives: How do migrants themselves experience labour market integration, and what strategies do they develop in dealing with structural barriers?
• Political discourses and migration governance: How do national narratives and political debates shape migration and labour market policies?
• Institutional and policy responses: How do labour market institutions, welfare states and political actors respond to increasing labour migration?

 

Submission of contributions

Authors who would like to contribute to this special issue are invited to submit a short outline of their proposed paper (approximately half a page) as soon as possible, but no later than 15 August 2026, to the editors as well as to the editorial office of the VAW (vaw@uni-bremen.de). Feedback will be provided within three weeks.

We accept contributions in German or English. Final manuscripts should not exceed 40,000 characters and must be submitted in their first version by 15 January 2027. A maximum two-stage peer review and revision process will follow. Manuscripts must be submitted in Word format. Figures and illustrations should be provided as separate files in reproducible quality.

The special issue of the Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeits- und Wirtschaftsforschung (VAW) is scheduled for publication in June 2027. 

 

About the Quarterly Journal of Labour and Economic Research – Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeits- und Wirtschaftsforschung (VAW)

The Quarterly Journal of Labour and Economic Research https://www.duncker-humblot.de/zeitschrift/vierteljahreshefte-zur-arbeits-und-wirtschaftsforschung-vaw-30  address current important topics in economic policy and labour market development and examine them from an applied scientific perspective.

In line with this guiding principle, the VAW brings together analyses from application-oriented research on labour and economic policy ‘construction sites’ and key issues for the future in a thematic volume. German-speaking and international researchers have their say. In addition to its application and practical orientation, the journal is also committed to the goals of plurality, knowledge transfer and relevance. Following in the tradition of the former Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, the Quarterly Journal of Labour and Economic Research (VAW) aims to provide guidance on complex economic policy issues.

Work-related topics such as labour demand, education and training, and specific aspects of human resources policy are considered, as are financial and transformation issues. The aim for the future is to continue to highlight new perspectives and practical solutions in these areas.

A particular incentive for publication in the VAW for some may be that, thanks to funding from the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, it will be published in diamond open access from 2025 onwards. This means that there are no costs for authors and the articles are freely available to readers.

New issue of the iaw series has been published

This article develops a theoretical concept of the “labour-political public sphere” to analyze the political structuring of paid work in the context of transformation. Starting from the diagnosis of a gap in political theory, the significance of work for democratic orders is conceptualized through the notion of “industrial citizenship” and situated within the interplay of globalization, digitalization, and decarbonization. Central to this argument is the thesis that industrial civil rights do not take effect automatically, but are produced, stabilized, and transformed through conflict-ridden processes within the labour-political public sphere. At the micro, meso, and macro levels, the study demonstrates how public negotiations regarding labor are constituted and contribute to the (re)configuration of labor rights. Labour-political publics thus appear to be a central prerequisite for the democratic regulation of paid work under conditions of transformation

Heiland, Heiner; Seeliger, Martin, 2026: Industrial Citizenship und arbeitspolitische Öffentlichkeit in der Transformation, Band 44, Schriftenreihe Institut Arbeit und Wirtschaft/2026, Bremen: Institut Arbeit und Wirtschaft, Download PDF

Interdisciplinary Symposium in Hanover

European Industrial Policy in Focus: Interdisciplinary Symposium in Hanover

As part of the theme week “Multiple Crises – Strained Resources” organized by the Volkswagen Foundation, iaw Director Timur Ergen, together with Helen Callaghan (University of Mainz) and Bob Hancké (LSE), hosted a symposium on Europe’s industrial policy options in the context of digital, green, and geoeconomic transformation.

Over the course of three days, more than 50 researchers from political economy, economic history, economic sociology, and related disciplines discussed how European cooperation can open up new perspectives for addressing Europe’s most pressing economic policy challenges.

Keynote lectures were delivered by Cornelia Woll (Hertie School), Brooke Harrington (Dartmouth College), David Soskice (LSE), Maive Rute (European Commission), and Kathleen McNamara (Georgetown University).

We make transition!

We make transition! partner University of Bremen organised a two-day study visit to Bremen especially for those partners and stakeholders that had organised transition arena on the topic of sustainable food: Vidzeme, Trondheim and Hämeenkyrö. The event included visits to organic food distribution center "Naturkost Kontor", organic farm "Kaemena" and visits to two school kitchens.

 

Some of the We make transition! arenas focused on the topic of sustainable local food and especially promotion of organic food in public procurement and school catering.

The Bremen study visit included a visit to Naturkost Kontor, a distribution center specialising in organic food products gave insights on how sustainable supply chains are organised, as well as the challenges and opportunities of distributing organic food to schools, kindergartens, and other institutions. The exchange with Joern Rathjen highlighted practical aspects of procurement, logistics, and partnerships within Bremen’s sustainable food system.

A true highlight was the visit to Hof Kaemena, a family-run organic farm located near Bremen. The farm is well known for its commitment to ecological agriculture and innovative approaches such as its popular “cow-sharing” initiative. During the visit, participants gained insights into organic milk production, animal and biodiversity friendly farming practices, and the role of local farms in community-based food systems. Kaemena Farm is very popular place for families to visit during summers. The ice cream that is produced from the organic milk was delicious!

We also visited two school kitchens Andernacher Straße and Oberschule Kurt-Schumacher-Allee. Participants learned that 90% of the ingredients used in these schools are organic, and that one key success factor on switching to organic food has been rethinking the entire menu.

“We gained practical insights into how a Bioregion could operate in practice and how collaboration can be successfully built across different actors and levels. Sustainability transformations need those changemakers and individuals that work persistently according to their values”
    – Lienīte Priedāja-Klepere, Vidzeme Planning region

Overall, study visit to Bremen gave inspiration and understanding of the key role of organic and healthy food in developing sustainable food systems.

 Link: Study visit to Bremen

Contact:
Dr. rer. pol. Tina Schneider
Domshof 26
28195 Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-61701
E-Mail: tina.schneider@uni-bremen.de

New community engagement portal for Bremen goes live: The Mitmachkompass is here!

How and where can Bremen residents actively participate in political and social decision-making? What participatory formats are already available—and how can they be used? Answers are now provided by the Bremen Participation Guide (Mitmachkompass Bremen), which is available online starting today: https://mitmachkompass.bremen.edu

Out now: Part of the book series "Global Dynamics of Social Policy"

The volume is edited by the Principle Investigators Ulrich Mückenberger (labour and social security law and political science) and Irene Dingeldey (political science and labour market sociology) and the Postdoc Heiner Fechner (labour law, law and development and human rights) of the project "Worlds of Labour" (WoL), based on the work of the editors and of former and present project members, namely Marina Carlino, Jean-Yves Gerlitz, Jenny Hahs and Andrea Schäfer.

This open access book "Constructing Worlds of Labour" aims to break new ground in presenting results on different types of labour standards around the world as regulatory social policy. The particular topic is to make visible that, and to explain why, employment law world-wide has not only a protective role, but also a segmenting role – creating status, gender- and/or race-based hierarchical social differentiation. We conceptualised this role of law as legal segmentation and identified various historical, and power-related reasons for legal segmentation. We also identified how segmenting employment law interacts with segmentative implications of other (current and/or historical) legal institutions – such as social law, family law, tax law, but also slavery, gender-, race- and ethnicity-based legislation. As explanations not only path dependent institutional development, but also colonial influences, international organisations and epistemic communities including postcolonial thought are considered and made subject of in-depth investigations. The outcomes of research are vividly discussed in order to submit propositions on how to overcome the identified situation in the different worlds of labour. Hence, not only applying a global perspective, but also treading new paths in an interdisciplinary way – both theoretically/normatively and empirically –, makes this book outstanding.

The volume also intends to encourage a discussion of the concept, the methodology and the results by members of the scientific community. Chapters of Tzehainesh Teklè and of Simon Deakin discuss the use of leximetrics. Ludger Pries and Kerry Rittich also widen the scope of analysis. The former proposes a sociological view on the international arenas and actors of labour regulation. The latter lances a critical perspective on legal segmentation executed by legal factors beyond labour markets, beyond labour law and beyond the international institutions traditionally dealing with labour.

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Irene Dingeldey
CRC 1342: Global Dynamics of Social Policy, Institute Labour and Economy
Wiener Straße 9 / Ecke Celsiusstraße
28359 Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-61710
E-Mail: dingeldey@uni-bremen.de

Dr. Heiner Fechner
CRC 1342: Global Dynamics of Social Policy
Mary-Somerville-Straße 7
28359 Bremen
Phone: +49-421-218-57070
E-Mail: hfechner@uni-bremen.de

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Mückenberger
CRC 1342: Global Dynamics of Social Policy, Faculty of Law
Universitätsallee, GW1
28359 Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-66218
E-Mail: mueckenb@uni-bremen.de

A special event celebrating the launch of Work-Net International, a groundbreaking global network dedicated to advancing research on work and employment, took place on Tuesday, 21 January 2025.

The event has been part of the Work Equalities Institute's two-day Sixth Fairness at Work conference, hosted by the Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) at The University of Manchester.

The launch event has welcome 26 of Work-Net International's 31 founding members to The University of Manchester - among them also the director of the Institute of Labour and Economy, Prof. Dr. Irene Dingeldey. Work-net is  bringing together scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to explore the network's potential to influence international policy and academic discourse on critical issues related to work and employment.

 

https://www.wei.manchester.ac.uk/research/networks/work-net-international/

  

Sustainability vision for 2035 of the project: "We make transition!"

We-make-transition.pdf (2.39 MB)

Geopolitical risks : What changes for Germany and Europe?

ED: Thomas Gehrig (University of Vienna), Lukas Menkhoff (HU Berlin), Doris Neuberger (University of Rostock), Dorothea Schäfer (iaw University of Bremen)

The crises of the 21st century have exposed significant weaknesses in globalized free trade. Both the Corona pandemic and the economic reactions to Russia's invasion of the Ukraine have shown the extreme dependence of Western industrial nations on a few large producers with significant market power. On the one hand, this affects high-tech goods based on computer chips, solar cells, wind turbines and pharmaceutical products, but on the other hand also raw materials, energy and bulk goods such as health and safety masks. In many places, blindly trusting in the functioning of the market, security of supply in the event of a crisis was carelessly overlooked.

Against this background, the question arises about the specific risks to the security of supply chains and the reasons why these are insufficiently insured in a globalized world. Who is affected and how will existing inequalities between population groups or regions be increased? What political conclusions can be drawn from the findings, and are deglobalization or friend-shoring indeed part of the correct answer?

How do the capital markets react to geopolitical risks – do they fulfill an insurance function or do they increase instabilities? What changes in the markets for international capital movements due to the new geopolitical risks are necessary? Are private, capital market-based risk sharing instruments more efficient than public ones? To what extent should the state intervene through trade restrictions, subsidies or transfers?

This issue addresses a variety of individual topics relating to the general topic of “geopolitical risks”. Of particular interest is the handling of geopolitical risks that arise in connection with: 

• Supply chains in the shadow of uncertainty
  • renewable energies: solar panels, wind turbines
  • Chip production
  • Pharmaceutical industry
  • Resources: rare earths and other raw materials
• Production networks and spillovers
• Geopolitical risks
  • Political risks and sanctions
  • Trade risks and subsidy competition
    • Trade with autocratic countries
    • Trade without a legal system
    • Multi-sourcing
  • Geopolitical risks and financial markets
    • Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
    • Private financial flows: Are there new risk premiums?
    • Is the synchronization of returns decreasing again?
    • Role of development financing
    • Remittances/Migration: Changes caused by geopolitical tensions
    • Role of foreign exchange market interventions
    • Government debt, especially in emerging countries, Africa
    • Role of the IMF (generally international financial institutions)
    • Is system stability influenced?
    • Payment transactions, retention of Russian funds,
    • Importance of competing institutions (e.g. BRICs), future of the Belt and Road Initiative

 

Authors who would like to submit a contribution (in German or English language) should send a short outline of the planned contribution (about 1/3-1/2 page) as soon as possible, but no later than June 15, 2024 to the Editors Thomas Gehrig (thomas.gehrig@univie.ac.at), Lukas Menkhoff (lmenkhoff@diw.de), Doris Neuberger (doris.neuberger@uni-rostock.de) and Dorothea Schäfer (vaw@uni-bremen.de). Feedback will be given within 10 days. The finished contributions, which should not exceed 40,000 characters in length, must be submitted in the first version by November 1, 2024. This is followed by a one- or two-stage peer review and revision process. Please note that manuscripts can only be submitted in Word format. We require images as separate files and in reproducible quality. The “Geopolitical Risks” issue of the Quarterly Journal of Labour and Economic Research will be published in May 2025.

Link Duncker & Humblot