We are pleased to inform you that the 2025 edition of the International Conference promoted by ADAPT, WORK and NON-WORK, TODAY: Reframing the Issue through an Interdisciplinary Perspective, will take place from 26 to 28 November 2025 in Bergamo (Italy).
The XV edition of the International Conference on the New Great Transformation of Work is organised in partnership with the CIELO Laboral Network.
The concept of work, and what we call 'non-work', is constantly evolving, making it difficult to define the boundaries between its many forms – formal, informal, productive, reproductive, voluntary, and free. Reality often goes beyond rigid theoretical categories, highlighting the importance of analysing the role of institutions and intermediary bodies in regulating and defining these spaces, which are essential for understanding the ongoing transformations.
The XV edition of the international conference organised by ADAPT’s International School of Higher Education in Labour and Industrial Relations offers an opportunity to explore the theme in its full complexity. The aim is to create a space for dialogue and exchange that not only includes the academic community but also embraces all those actors who contribute to shaping the world of work—many of whom are often overlooked or marginalised.
The conference will provide a platform to delve into issues such as care work, domestic work, internships, unpaid and voluntary work, as well as employment in the entertainment industry, sports, and informal sectors, including sex work. Additionally, issues related to low-wage, temporary, hazardous, and precarious work will be addressed, with the goal of challenging the rigid distinctions between what is conventionally recognised as work and what is not.
These discussions will inevitably take on both an international and comparative dimension, but also an interdisciplinary one, given the broad range of topics covered in this extensive analytical endeavour. The proposed research themes are outlined below and can be consulted in full here:
We therefore invite you to attend and contribute to the international conference by submitting your research, engaging in dialogue with lecturers, scholars, and experts, and sharing your ideas on the future of work. Some useful information is provided below:
Research Track 1 – Work and Non-Work in the Current Labour Market
Research Track 2 – Work and its Rules
Research Track 3 – Work and Non-Work in Contractual Dynamics
Research Track 4 – Care Work: Free Provision and the Services Market
Research Track 5 – Work and Non-Work: The Role for Industrial Relations
Research Track 6 – Collective Bargaining between Transformation and Discontinuity: Comparative Perspectives
Research Track 7 – Health Protection at Work and Beyond: Safety, Psychosocial Risks, and New Forms of Social Protection
Research Track 8 – The Role of Social Partners in Promoting Equal Opportunities Inside and Outside the Labour Market
Research Track 9 – Work and Non-Work: The Question of Skills Formation
Research Track 10 – From Work to Quality Work: Changes and New Skills
Research Track 11 – Reimagining the Relationship Between Work, Life, and Identity: Media Representations and Perspectives of New Generations
Abstracts must be submitted by 18 May 2025 through the Abstract Submission Portal, which also contains the submission instructions, while the full version of accepted papers should be sent by 31 October 2025. They will be considered for publication in Diritto delle Relazioni Industriali, E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies, Professionalità studi and Revista Internacional y Comparada de Relaciones Laborales y Derecho del Empleo, or in a special issue of ADAPT Labour Studies Book-series (Cambridge Scholars Publishing). Editors will also consider for publication the papers by those who are unable to attend the Conference but are willing to provide their contribution just the same
Participation in the Conference is free, but registration is required.
Updates and news about the #ADAPTConference2025 (social media hashtag) will be provided through the official event website internationalconference.adapt.it and via our social networks @ADAPT_Bulletin (X English) – @adaptland (X Italian) – @adaptland (Instagram) – ADAPT (Facebook) – ADAPT (LinkedIn).
We look forward to seeing you at the conference and kindly request your support in disseminating this Call for Abstracts, particularly to early-career researchers and labour market professionals in the broadest sense.