Cycle of seminars: Human Resources and Human Rights

Nowadays, more than ever before, the work of individuals is reliant upon knowledge, technology, and communication rather than material production per se. An integral companion to this new dynamic are new styles of management of work relationships, which visibly transcend the limits of the traditional instruments of employer supervision. This rather unprecedented ‘access’ to employees’ undeniably adds a new dimension to the fundamental problem of reasonable accommodation of apparently contradictory interests, namely employers’ powers of command (control, supervision) and employees’ rights (the right to privacy and personal data protection, freedom of expression, freedom from discrimination, and the right to work, to name but a few).

The series of seminars will revolve around examining the potential human rights impact of the most common nowadays instruments of human resources management such as dataveillance, workforce analytics, and performance management systems (nota bene present in different milieus of the contemporary world of work) in order to invite discussion on the adequacy of the current regulatory framework in Europe and its future desirable contours, also in light of the numerous ethical and regulatory dilemmas induced by the visibly accelerated by Covid-19 digital reconfiguration at work.

The seminars are construed upon a combination of lectures and the Socratic method- i.e. the relevant introduction to the specific topic will be followed by a dialectic dialogue in class which shall be moderated according to short (1/2 page) reaction paragraphs written before the seminar by students on the basis of suggested reading materials.

The cycle of seminars will be taught in English.

More info on the PhD’s website: www.phdlavorosviluppoinnovazione.unimore.it/en