A plan is needed to ensure access to work that lets all workers thrive

Theresa May’s attempt to steal the title of the ‘party of workers’ from Labour has pushed the issue of work once more into the political battleground. Meanwhile, industrial change, technological progress and new forms of work have the potential to substantially disrupt the world of work for many. Politicians are rightly asking what role they should play in the changing world of work.

First it would make sense to get an understanding of what workers think about work right now. To do this, the Changing Work Centre – a new partnership between the Fabian Society and the trade union Community – commissioned Ipsos Mori to conduct a face-to-face survey with over 1,300 people in work in Britain. The results provide a challenge to politicians of all parties to reframe the way they talk about work.

The standout lines from the polling are the positive ones. Four in five workers find their work interesting and enjoyable. Nearly two-thirds of the workforce look forward to work, and that figure has risen significantly since a poll using the same methodology was conducted in 2001.

Since we received the data, many have been taken aback by these findings. ‘That goes against every trend I’ve seen’ a friend told me before the publication of the A good day’s work report. Following my article for the Times Red Box, one below-the-line commentator proclaimed ‘I simply don’t recognise the stats in the article’. ‘I think you need to check your polling methodology,’ another said on Twitter after the report launched. But there was no problem with the polling – that is really what workers think about their work.

So why the surprise? Is it stories we tend to hear about work? And let’s face it, often it is the stories told by politicians on the left. Whether it is an employment crisis in a declining industry, exploitation in the supply chain of a major retailer, or the risks posed by automation, recent interventions made by the left have tended to focus on the failure of work to give people what they want. And often for good reason – these tend to be stories about growing inequality in the labour market, something Labour has always opposed.

But the lack of balance from politicians on the left can give the impression that work – in general – is miserable and exploitative. Indeed, a minority of progressive thinkers have even gone as far as to say that a future with less work – aided by technological progress – could be a good thing, and earned income should be replaced by other means.

But our survey shows that such an approach is out of touch with the feelings of the vast majority of working people. For most workers, work provides much more than a pay cheque.

Sensible politicians on the left should not be tempted to indulge in imaginations of a post-work future. Instead, they should focus on finding ways to speak to the four in five workers who enjoy their work and find it interesting, but for whom work can get better.

It is not just those on the left who should pause for reflection. Our survey presents a challenge to those politicians on the right who argue that all work is good work, and we should focus on the number of people in work, rather than the quality of it.

We found that around one in 10 workers – over three million people – do not find their work interesting or enjoyable, and rarely or never look forward to it. And the proportion of people saying they feel secure in their work dropped from 77 to 70 per cent between 2000 and 2016. What is more, people in working‑class occupations are more likely to be having a bad time at work than those in white-collar professions.

Therefore, a significant proportion of the workforce are not getting the fulfilment at work that most people take for granted. No matter what party is in power, government should have a considered plan for ensuring everyone has access to work that allows them to thrive.

Those on the right should also take stock of what our survey shows about attitudes to trade unions. While only 24 per cent of the workforce are members of a trade union, our survey shows support for trade unions runs much wider. The majority of workers think trade unions are necessary to protect working conditions and wages, and the more exposure workers have to unions and union reps, the more positive attitudes tend to be.

While unions clearly need to modernise to reverse declining membership figures and adapt to the changing world of work, our survey results demonstrate that the anti-union attacks from senior figures in the Conservative party are out of step with public opinion, and that most people feel unions have a role to play in modern Britain.

It is right that both Labour and the Conservatives are doing some hard thinking about what the changing world of work means for the workforce, and what role government should play. The Changing Work Centre will support this thinking with evidence-based research over the coming years.

But this survey shows that politicians on both the left and the right would do well to reconsider their approach to work and begin their planning from the point at which workers are today. This survey should put paid to the ideas that we should pursue a route towards less work on the one hand, or that all work is good work on the other.

Instead, political leaders should ensure everybody has access to fulfilling work while finding ways to improve work for the majority of workers who find it enjoyable and interesting, but for whom it could get better.

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Cameron Tait is head of the Changing Work Centre and a senior research fellow at the Fabian Society. He tweets at @cameronrjtait

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