Working world of the future: There is still a lot to do
On June 17, 2019, the 62nd ITS Techno-Apéro took place in Neuhausen am Rheinfall. The topic was: "Digital world of work - What makes tomorrow's economy tick?" Around 60 people attended the event, mainly entrepreneurs and managers from the Schaffhausen region.
As part of a keynote speech on the topic of "Working world 4.0 in the environment of digital transformation", Prof. Dr. Marc K. Peter from FHNW Olten presented the initial results of a study conducted in 2019. This is an in-depth study of the "SME Transformation" survey already published by the speaker in 2017. With around 1,200 participants, the study "Arbeitswelt 4.0" is the largest study on this topic in Switzerland to date. It focuses on the field of action "Digital Leadership & Culture" under the consideration of new approaches in leadership, culture and work - all areas that play a role within the digital transformation. The team led by Prof. Dr. Marc K. Peter is based on the thesis that the triad of "People - Place - Technology" is at the heart of successfully shaping the working world of the future. The main issue is the meaningful and effective interaction of these three areas. With this in mind, a questionnaire was drawn up and the survey conducted in spring 2019.
Developing the working world of the future: Employees not involved enough
How do the respondents understand the working world 4.0? The dominant terms from the responses are digitization, new forms of work, but also associations such as flexibility with regard to working hours and place of work, networking and change in general. Employers say of themselves that they are either "right at the beginning" (43 %) of Working World 4.0 or "in the middle of it" (45 %). "So there is still a lot to do," concludes Marc K. Peter.
This is also shown by the answer to the question about the involvement of employees in the implementation of Working World 4.0: Only 27 percent of respondents answered "yes" here. This means that 73 percent of employees are not involved in the change process - or the company does not consider this necessary! A finding that should give pause for thought.
Intergenerational collaboration
The respondents see innovation (66 %) and communication (64 percent) as the key drivers of the working world of the future. The greatest barriers are seen as a lack of expertise (42 %) and a leadership or organizational structure that is no longer up to date (41 percent). This result clearly shows how necessary a cultural change is in order to be able to realize Working World 4.0 at all. As a recommendation for action, the study authors mention the conscious and proactive inclusion of Generation Z in this process. It is important to harness their potential in order to promote cross-generational acceptance and collaboration.
Digitalization as a stress factor
In addition to the study results, Marc K. Peter pointed out further challenges in connection with the working world 4.0: Advancing digitalization is leading to more stress. According to the Job Stress Index of the Health Promotion Switzerland almost half of the workforce is currently in a sensitive area with regard to stress. Not only is it up to management to take targeted preventive measures, but the world of work 4.0 can also make a positive contribution here, for example by strengthening flexibility and collaboration. However: New areas of tension and new demands on corporate culture cannot be avoided here either.
The detailed results of the study as well as a practical guide will be available to the Swiss business community from fall 2019. More information
