To mark International Labor Day 2026, Leaders League shines a light on the DACH region to explore how organizations in Germanophone Europe are rethinking work at a time of deep transformation. Bringing together the perspectives of Pascal Brinkmann (straily.legal, Düsseldorf), Ninja Buks (EPP Rechtsanwälte Avocats, Baden-Baden), Kathrin Bürger Elisa Iacono (HGF Limited, Munich), Alexandra Knell (Dr. Alexandra Knell, Vienna), Markus Löscher (Littler Austria, Vienna), Peter Rösen (Kanzlei Rösen, Altenberge) and a ZEILER Rechtsanwälte team (Hans Georg Laimer, Melina Peer and Lukas Wieser, Vienna), this feature reveals how the future of work is being reshaped as much by shifting human expectations as technology and regulation.
The public discourse around the future of work often gravitates toward extremes – whether fears of mass job loss driven by artificial intelligence or the promise of a frictionless, borderless global workforce. Yet, as our contributors emphasize, reality is far more nuanced.
Kathrin Bürger challenges a fundamental assumption underpinning many of these debates: “The core issue is that we are currently unable to meet the future demands of work within the existing legal framework, nor does the prevailing mindset of employees and employers adequately reflect what lies ahead.” She further notes that “we are often not even fully aware of precisely what will be required, or to what extent,” highlighting a structural uncertainty that goes beyond technology...
Image: Facebook/SAPS The IDAC has rubbished rumours that it has a J50 warrant of arrest for KZN provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi as “false”. This comes after re...