Employment transformation in Russia from the perspective of cross-country comparisons

Abstract

The transition of mankind to a post-industrial society marked a profound transformation in various areas of activity. The subject of our attention is employment, which not only has undergone significant changes recently, but is also seriously affected by global challenges. The purpose of the article is to analyze the features and patterns of the employment transformation in Russia on the basis of cross-country comparisons. The chosen research perspective allowed us to observe the situation in the world's leading economies (G7 countries) and identify typical trends for industrialized countries. The paper is based on the data from the International Labor Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank, as well as public Internet sources. The analysis clearly demonstrated versatility of the studied phenomenon that we examined within the frames of the sectoral structure and forms of employment, the institutional environment and the development of human capital. In general, the employment transformation in Russia has much in common with that in the G7 countries, which is expressed primarily in redistribution of the labor force to services, spread of non-standard employment, reduction of trade union density rate and adaptation of labor practices to performing works related to solution of cognitive and technological tasks, as well as interpersonal interaction. At the same time, some "delay" is observed in a number of areas, that may be due to the later onset of the changes. In conclusion, we emphasize the importance of finding new opportunities to analyze the various facets of employment transformation and the need to achieve an optimal balance between employment flexibility and decent work.