Research into Employment and Equitable Futures

Societies and workplaces are experiencing profound change, driven by developments in technology, shifts in geo-political power and multiple planetary crises.

Precarious work is becoming ever more normalised, raising questions about the validity of established concepts of management, leadership, and forms of organising, including traditional employment relations.

Meanwhile, the menacing spectre of climate emergency is already ravaging parts of the planet, particularly in the so-called 'developing world'. This raises the urgent question of how to create sustainable economies and societies to secure the future of the planet as a host to all humans, animals, oceans, trees etc that inhabit it.

This potent cocktail of forces and trends affects us all, and how organisations choose to respond is vital. Will they disempower and delay or offer a more just and equitable future for all members of society.

The Research into Employment and Equitable Futures (REEF) academic centre of excellence is committed to the latter through pursuing research that:

Furthers the egalitarian and inclusive ethos of The Open University by exploring the potential for organisational innovations that will contribute to shaping more just and equitable futures, inside and outside workplaces and organisations.
Engages with diverse communities of practice, including employers committed to equitable futures, social movements seeking to shift social and political paradigms, labour organisations fighting for workers’ rights, civil sector organisations enriching awareness of injustices and new sustainable futures, or policymakers grappling with how to raise prosperity, productivity and wellbeing.
Pioneers and shares innovative research in the field of management and organisation studies and in interdisciplinary study.