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Imagining the Future of Work at the Precarious Edge of the Knowledge Economy. Graduates in Romania’s Business Service Sector

In: Higher Education and Work in the Knowledge Economy

Author

Listed:
  • Denisa Ioana Dobai

    (University of Oradea)

  • Kenneth Roberts

    (University of Liverpool)

  • Dan-Cristian Dabija

    (Babeș-Bolyai University
    Dabija: Academy of Romanian Scientists)

Abstract

More recently, Romania became a destination for companies outsourcing or offshoring labour-intensive business services. Graduates with non-STEM degrees perform routinised, fragmented knowledge work that is prone to being substituted by automation. The chapter explores employees’ perspectives related to the future of work, notably, automation. It is based on in-depth, face to face interviews with 81 young and mature graduates (managers at different levels of seniority and HR personnel) from companies performing outsourced/ shared services. They hold non-STEM degrees in a labour market rewarding highly those with technical degrees and rendering those without, marginal. The chapter argues that whilst all graduates show an overly general sense of awareness of automation, the perspectives unfolding are diverse, yet positive: from remote concern, to ‘strategic ignorance’. Whilst being aware of the likelihood of automation, managers and HR staff displayed a strong sense of confidence in the resilience of the sector. Their narratives highlight an optimistic view of the future of the knowledge economy. Our findings communicate to the larger field of youth studies and sociology of work. They speak about the ways automation and future are approximated at the base of the occupational pyramid in ways that integrate class, gender, age, academic background and location.

Suggested Citation

  • Denisa Ioana Dobai & Kenneth Roberts & Dan-Cristian Dabija, 2025. "Imagining the Future of Work at the Precarious Edge of the Knowledge Economy. Graduates in Romania’s Business Service Sector," Springer Books, in: Maria-Carmen Pantea & Kenneth Roberts & Dan-Cristian Dabija (ed.), Higher Education and Work in the Knowledge Economy, chapter 0, pages 295-319, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-80618-6_13
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-80618-6_13
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