Working world 4.0 - brave new working world?
Closely linked to the digital transformation, "Working World 4.0" and "New Work" are now omnipresent. This is not surprising, since the latter are a subdiscipline of digitization. Moreover, there is a comparable range of interpretations. In short, the path to the working world 4.0 resembles a jungle that makes it difficult for companies, especially SMEs, to find the right entry point for them.
What is missing in the working world 4.0, Marco Looser (owner of Management Communication Pool AG) is convinced, are practical concrete orientation pillars for an efficient implementation and best possible use of these new potentials.
The triad of People - Place - Technology. The worlds of work and life have changed significantly in recent years and in the environment of digital transformation. In summary, Working Worlds 4.0 is about a meaningful and effective interplay of:
- People: In terms of people and employees, this means guiding, supporting and training them in a "digital mentality. This includes collaborative ways of thinking, acting and working. These enable the potential of the technical, spatial and human conditions to be optimally incorporated.
- Place: Targeted spatial design and equipment, adapted to the respective "work character" (type of work/individual tasks/teamwork) ensure improved work results such as efficiency, effectiveness, innovative strength, sales success, etc.
- Technology: Time- and location-independent cooperation (collaboration) of all participants with technology that serves people. Thanks to the use of appropriate tools for information and knowledge workers, enormous potential can be exploited.
The "order of the day" for the successful introduction and implementation of Working World 4.0 is therefore collaboration. The office of the future is a meeting place for exchange, teamwork and social contacts. Always with the aim of increasing innovative power, efficiency and effectiveness for the organization and thus ensuring maximum benefit.
It is therefore all the more important to have a well-founded orientation on what, when and how. Some studies on this subject are already available. However, there are no holistic solution concepts for the simplest and most sustainable implementation possible.
In preparation: Study "Working world of the future" - a practical guide for SMEs. A study currently being prepared by the School of Business at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) in cooperation with the New-Work.Team and partner companies/institutions aims to close this gap. The study results will be available to the Swiss economy in the form of a comprehensive practical guide for SMEs on shaping the working world 4.0. The content includes, among other things, a clearly understandable presentation of the most important implementation approaches, possible tools, checklists and further assistance. The focus of the study is on these questions:
- How will we work and live in the future?
- What influence do the enormous technological possibilities and the upcoming, expected changes have for knowledge and information work?
- How can the company and its employees be motivated to achieve top performance?
- What demands will be placed on everyone in the future?
- What do holistic and implementable concepts look like?
Marco Looser: Owner of Management Communication Pool AG is partner of the New-Work.Team (www.new-work.team) and is responsible there for the "collaboration tools" area. The expert for collaboration technology has many years of experience as well as know-how and do-how in consulting and implementation.
