Digitalisation, new ways of working and the new employee

Due to technological advancements and for instance the unprecedented level of digital trace data, digital technologies will continue to (re)shape work and organizing. These new ways of working (NWW) will affect private and public organisations, work and jobs within and outside the organisation, employees and their well-being, their competences, the relation between supervisors and their employees, and how they are governed. 

Researchers within this theme will focus on research questions on the level of the organisation and the network as well as at the level of individual workers and teams, e.g. on how organisational level changes are related to individual level outcomes. While it is expected that digitalisation and other kinds of technology affect organisational governance, leadership, employment relationships, labor relations and institutions, and the design of incentives and compensation, much remains to be investigated due to the recent developments in the fields. Of particular interest is how the changes differ across economic sectors, in particular between private and public organisations. A central issue in that regard concerns the level of freedom that organisations have with regard to their design, or whether these new technologies are deterministic and leave little room to maneuver. 

Central questions to be answered are:  

• What are the main effects of digitalisation for organisations and which choices do organisations have to implements forms of digitalisation?  
• How does digitalisation affect organisational governance and the employment relationship?  
• What are the effects of new ways of working (including virtual and hybrid working) for employees’ well-being and organisational performance? How are these related to sectoral differences?  
• How do AI-enhanced new ways of working affect employee well-being and overall organisational performance? Are there sectoral nuances in these impacts, and how can organisations tailor their AI strategies to maximize benefits and minimize drawbacks? 
• How can organisations influence these effects on well-being and performance?  
• How much influence does the new employee have on the adoption and the outcomes of digital technologies (either directly or via collective representation)?   
• How does algorithmic management affect work design and the meaningfulness of work?  
• How does digitalisation relate to the decline of ‘standard’ work arrangement and how does that, subsequently, relate to precarious employment?  
• What do these changes mean for vertical (leadership) and horizontal relationships within organisations? What specific challenges does leadership in a digital context encounter?  
• In what ways does AI influence organisational governance, leadership styles, and the evolution of employment relationships? How can organisations navigate the challenges of AI integration to foster a productive, inclusive, and bias-free workplace?