De-standardisation of employment: сhallenge or solution?

The article is devoted to the assessment of the current view of theoretical economists on employment de-standardization in the «challenge - solution» aspect. We obtained the data for the analysis from the speakers who presented the scientific research results at the academic discussion «Employment de-standardization: challenge or solution» on February 22, 2024 held during the VIII St. Petersburg International Labour Forum. We test the hypothesis that the scientific view on employment de-standardization as a dichotomy «challenge - solution» has a balanced character and reflects both the problematic aspects associated with its spread and the answers it provides to existing issues. To test the hypothesis, we analyse the original texts presented by the speakers, including the resolution part and then classify them to identify the viewpoints (evaluative attitudes). The participants of the discussion touched upon various significant aspects of employment de-standardization. Among them are qualitative changes in the characteristics of employment within trends in the domestic labour market development; the response of employment to labour shortages; the scale and level of income in precarious employment; the relationship between the quality of employment and labour mobility; the quality of employment of different population groups. We reveal the presence of evaluative attitudes with a prevailing one that perceives employment de-standardization rather as a problem that requires respective regulation.