Working world 4.0: Change is taking place without employees
The study by the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland FHNW shows that Working World 4.0 (also known as "New Work") is an important part of the digital transformation of companies. 88% of the participating companies are transforming their working world, but only around half of these companies involve their employees in the process.
Following the first major Swiss study on digital transformation two years ago, the second research volume on Working World 4.0 is now available. Authors from the School of Business FHNW and the School of Applied Psychology FHNW as well as the Future Work Group examined the state of New Work through a broad-based study with 1,144 participants.
No strategy for working world 4.0
Key findings of the study are:
- Only 12% of the companies surveyed have already reached an advanced stage in New Work; 45% of the companies are in the process of transformation and 43% are still in the early stages.
- 76% of the companies do not have a strategy on New Work or the employees are not aware of it.
- 58% of companies do not involve employees in the design of Working World 4.0.
- The biggest barriers for companies are lack of knowledge/know-how (42%), existing leadership and organizational structures that are sometimes rigid (41%), and conflicts with other company priorities (35%).
- The top reasons for New Work are pressure to innovate (66%), better internal communication (64%), and gaining more flexibility (55%).
New Work as a Strategic Initiative
The study shows that Working World 4.0 is part of the digital transformation of companies. New Work can be described as a strategic initiative that unleashes the potential of optimized processes, automation, increased collaboration and networking, and the use of technologies in the context of people and especially employees. The three dimensions of people (employees), place (working environment) and technology (technologies) are at the heart of New Work.
According to the head of the study, Prof. Dr. Marc K. Peter from the Institute for Competitiveness and Communication at the FHNW School of Business, each dimension has its own characteristics. In the People dimension, the topics of corporate and leadership culture, collaboration, employer reputation, and employee training and development are highly weighted. In the modern working environment (Place), there is a need for flexible working hours, and in the technology dimension (Technology), targeted hardware and software investments support the transformation to the working world 4.0.
The research project was supported by Health Promotion Switzerland, Sedus Stoll, Sharp Electronics and Lenovo, among others. The study results and the practical guide to the working world 4.0 are available free of charge in PDF format at www.arbeitswelt-zukunft.ch
