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Mission
The Center for Global Work and Employment explores the consequences of a deepening global economy for the governance of work through research, curriculum innovation, and public engagement. Learn more about the Center.
Research
Three primary research streams guide our work:
Future of Work. We explore how to build a human-centered future of work, engaging communities of scholars and practitioners around the world.
China’s Rise and Changing Global Employment Relations. We examine China’s impact on global patterns of employment relations and human resource management, focusing on the intersection of industrial relations and international business.
Comparative Political Economy of Work. We critically engage with contemporary debates about the global knowledge economy, studying the shifting politics and governance of labor, work, and education across industries and countries.
The Center began a working paper series in 2022 to feature and disseminate pertinent research by affiliated scholars. See the full list of CGWE working papers here.
Curriculum Innovation
The Center supports students’ appreciation of global connections through internationalizing the curriculum, including reframing course offerings through a global lens; providing opportunities for students to study abroad; and deepening connections with top global universities. Learn more.
Upcoming Events
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Youth Unemployment and Underemployment in China and Its Political Implications
Tue, 04/01/2025, 4:30pm - 6:00pm
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Balancing bytes and beakers: Skill change in the digitalisation of industrial science
Tue, 04/08/2025, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
To see all upcoming and past CGWE-affiliated events, check out our events page.
Latest Working Paper
Lian Zhou, Xue Lei, Mingwei Liu, Xinran Huang, Rui Hou. Algorithmic Competency of On-demand Labor Platform Workers: Scale Development, Antecedents, and Consequences. CGWE Working Paper 2025.02.
> Access the CGWE Working Paper Series
Call for Papers
AI, Remote Work, and Productivity
Remote work and AI both have interesting and controversial effects on productivity. Therefore, this call for proposals is seeking research related to the productivity effects of each. Successful proposals will be invited to present a paper at AI, Remote Work, and Productivity: An International Conference, a conference to be held on May 8-9, 2025, at Memorial University of Newfoundland located in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Remote work and AI are subjects that span a multitude of disciplines, and the conference will recognize this reality.
Submission deadline: April 15, 2025.
> Click here for more information about the Call for Papers
Recent Publications
Revaluing Work(ers): Toward a Democratic and Sustainable Future
Edited by Tobias Schulze-Cleven and Todd E. Vachon (Cornell University Press)
This volume presents a labor studies perspective on the future of work, arguing that revaluing work—the efforts and contributions of workers—is crucial to realizing the promises of democracy and improving sustainability.
> Learn more
Buy the volume at Cornell University Press
Imbalance: Germany’s Political Economy after the Social Democratic Century
Edited by Tobias Schulze-Cleven and Sidney A. Rothstein (Routledge)
This book assesses Germany’s political economy after the end of the "social democratic" 20th century to rethink its dominant properties and create new opportunities for using the country as a powerful lens into the evolution of democratic capitalism.
> Learn more
Event Highlights
Online Summer Camp Program with Renmin University of China
Rutgers Center for Global Work and Employment organized an Online Summer Camp of Labor Relations and Human Resource Management in collaboration with Rutgers Global for 15 undergraduate students from the School of Labor and Human Resources, Renmin University of China. Held from July 25 to August 19, 2022, the camp consisted of 10 lectures on frontiers of labor and human resources taught by SMLR faculty and 10 lectures of academic English. CGWE organized the first summer camp for Renmin students onsite at Rutgers in 2019, but the program has been suspended in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The successful experience of the online camp this year may help sustain this program in the future.
Virtual Talk: Private Regulation of Labor Standards in Global Supply Chains - 2/25/22
Rutgers Center for Global Work and Employment and Rutgers Business School hosted a virtual discussion with Sarosh Kuruvilla (Cornell University) on his recent book “Private Regulation of Labor Standards in Global Supply Chains: Problems, Progress, and Prospects.”
Climate Change and the Future of Workers: Toward a Just Transition - 12/7/21
New York City LERA and Rutgers Center for Global Work and Employment hosted a virtual panel on climate change and the future of work, with a focus on the importance of including worker and community voices in shaping and implementing transitions to ensure the potential for just outcomes.
Revaluing Work(ers) – 2021 LERA Research Volume Book Launch Event - 10/27/21
This LERA research volume edited by SMLR’s Tobias Schulze-Cleven and Todd Vachon explores how we can build a world of work that delivers for workers and addresses systemic crises.
Germany After Merkel: A Roundtable Discussion of the Federal Election Results - 09/29/21
The Center for Global Work and Employment and the Center for European Studies hosted an online roundtable discussion of the German federal election results.
Hybrid Talk: The Evolving Political Economy of Labor in China & Indonesia - 09/15/21
Speaker: William Hurst, Chong Hua Professor of Chinese Development at the University of Cambridge
The Need for Effective Leadership in Uncertain Times - 04/13/21
Speaker: Chris Rowley, Professor Emeritus at The Business School, City, University of London
Order Overload? Demand Spikes and Labor Violations in Global Supply Chains - 12/18/20
Speaker: Greg Distelhorst, Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto
Preventing Unemployment During COVID-19: Lessons from European "Short-Time" Employment Schemes - 06/18/20
This webinar explores how European countries have used “short-time” employment schemes to buffer economic displacement by allowing companies to apply for publicly sponsored wage replacement as they reduce employees’ work hours (including to zero).