This year's May Day — or International Workers Day — fell in the midst of a pandemic-induced jobs apocalypse with the International Labor Organization predicting that nearly half of the world’s 3 billion-strong workforce is at risk of losing their livelihoods.

For many workers, the lockdown has hurried the arrival of the “future of work,” a term invoked in recent years in relation to the opportunities and challenges of technological disruption and the structural economic factors that determine the quality of livelihoods.

For many white-collar workers, it has meant remote work. For many service workers and blue-collar workers, it has provided a window into a future where machines may displace people especially as firms consider increasing automation to enhance their future resilience.