WUNDERWORK · Workers’ Un(der)declared Employment in Europe: Research and Policy Co-creation for Inclusive Labour Markets

WUNDERWORK’s overarching objective is to advance knowledge on effective policies and workplace interventions that reduce undeclared and underdeclared work in ways that are both effective and inclusive, promoting workers’ wellbeing and ensuring a level playing field for European firms. By conceptualizing un(der)declared work through the lived experiences of the workers and firms who engage in it, WUNDERWORK contributes an innovative, situated conceptualization and operationalization of un(der)declared work that is suitable for both interdisciplinary empirical research, as well as for the development of policies and interventions. Using a mixed-methods approach, the project examines the performance of un(der)declared work in seven European economies and four sectors with a heterogeneous prevalence of un(der)declared work to capture regional variation and context-specific dynamics. Using a critical realist evaluation, WUNDERWORK co-creates context-specific theories of change that acknowledge the motivations and capacities of stakeholders. The project engages policymakers, social partners, and other stakeholders in a structured co-creation process to design, test, and refine effective policies and interventions. Survey experimental and quasi-experimental designs are used to test mechanisms for behavioural change, while ripple effect mapping is used to understand why policies and interventions do or do not work in specific contexts. When piloting and evaluating interventions with stakeholders, WUNDERWORK pays particular attention to the testing of digital tools and technologies that can act as enablers of policy implementation and support effective interventions.