Everyone works with!

The trend has been going in one direction for years: A. ll should participate in the company and so far companies have always managed to do better. Driven primarily by digital technologies. When people talked about the “interactive web” in Web 2.0, apps and the Internet of Things made it much more interactive. Now there are numerous other possibilities through, among others, CloudServices. The goal of Futurework is now to adapt the workplace and work to this “hands-on culture”.

Work wherever you want (futurework)

Most of the articles on Twitter on futurework deal with the new workplace design. The articles speak of a result culture instead of a present tense culture. Under the topic: Activity based working, an “ultimate workplace” is defined, which is suitable for any type of work and in which there is a culture of trust and permanent networking. The illustration shows the idea behind the hashtag futurework and activity based working.

Futurework – a collection of office concepts?

Overall, the investigation of the hashtag shows a strong focus on room and office concepts to promote agility in the company. Sure, there is also talk of a cultural change and this is also dealt with in great detail, but mainly office concepts are evaluated. The following sentence sums up the topic very well: “The office is changing into a place of communication and networking. For this purpose, situation-oriented rooms are required that promote creative exchange or project work as well as offer retreats for concentrated and confidential work and optimally support routine activities. ” (Source Detecon ).

Is that agile?

Companies want agile employees. These should deliver high quality work, be creative, flexible and deliverable. I think the thesis that this is an important property in today’s knowledge society, I do not need to go into further. But are these new concepts really a factor in structural change in companies?
I have found many articles about concepts but have not yet found any direct case studies as to whether such a concept has really improved the work. Sure, these concepts in themselves promise really great work, but does every employee really want to work like this? To answer this question, I will conduct a case study with a company that has implemented such a concept and evaluate exactly whether and how this open space has changed the way we work.
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Digital readiness index

To determine digital readiness, the “Neuland” initiative created a digital readiness index. This measures the arrival of companies in the digital world on the basis of 150 criteria. The study speaks of a digital Darwinism which lets companies “die” if they miss the digital transformation. The large consulting houses also offer their own metrics and methods to measure this readiness. Sentences like “It is time to completely digitize processes in which the user is the focus” or “No question about it: this experience will also change the expectations of customers in terms of communication, services and product offers with and from companies fundamentally change. ” However, these studies do not currently provide an answer to this digital transformation. There are certainly numerous methods of counteracting the propagated digital Darwinism. In the following, the structural change from companies to agile companies will be examined under the heading “digital agility”.

Digital agility

There is already an article on the Tham digital agility on the blog. Technology must not be an end in itself, the new type of added value counts in the transformation. Only agile companies can, for example, adequately meet the challenges of faster markets and technology in the future. The markets and the technological possibilities require companies not only to be able to react agilely and evolutionarily to environmental changes, but also to react quickly and adequately. From pioneer to settler, as can be seen in the illustration of Brandes. There is also one for this Article about leading digital with more explanation. Digital and agile companies are currently very popular. Concepts around Holocracy, Democracy and Sociocracy determine the management world and promise to revive companies and free them from complexity. However, all of the concepts have not yet been applied to digital transformation and do not yet provide a clear answer. We are currently in the process of researching with companies exactly the feasibility for digital transformation.
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• Declaration of NewWork
• What is work 4.0
• Roundtable on Work 4.0

NewWork using the example of an IT group

The creation of software is a process that involves a high degree of division of labor. Those involved have to think in a networked way and react quickly to changing requirements – be it due to customer requests or legal changes, according to the group manager. For this reason, better networking and cooperation should arise with a new building. There are various meeting rooms of all kinds as well as rooms for fitness, an orchard and a work surface in the outdoor area. There is also customer support in-house. “The entire building is made for communication and movement,” said the manager of the IT group in my roundtable.
Before building the concept, we tested various pilot concepts together with 120 employees. For this we rented a building and every employee who applied was allowed to work on one of the concepts for two weeks and give us feedback. Our new NewWork concept arose from this.
During the subsequent tour of the IT group’s building, the seating arrangements in the open space could be observed. Teams often sat close together and small “team islands” could be noticed, according to the managers of the IT group. A “Jump Day” concept was designed so that these islands could not establish themselves permanently. Every employee is required to change jobs and teams on this day. Jump Day takes place once a year to ensure a balance between security and change, says the manager of the IT group. The agile coach of the IT group also assesses an advantage in the room occupation and invalidates the prejudice that fewer employees have space: The agile coach of the IT group also assesses an advantage in the room occupation and invalidates the prejudice that fewer employees have space have: “I think it was around 70% where on average you have a cast at all. So 30% are free on average. And even if working from home is of course no problem for us, we often also approve. There are[auch] no core working hours, you can come whenever you want with us. “

NewWork using the example of a sporting goods manufacturer

In return, the sporting goods manufacturer also presented the design of the NewWork concept. There are no permanent jobs here either. “There is a fitness studio for employees as well as opportunities for other sporting activities. With the help of a building that is a few 100 meters away from the HQ, we are constantly testing new office concepts. There are permanently 3 different concepts on 3 floors, which we are successively trying out. Up to 300 employees are able to test the concepts. For example, the mixture of sports hall and office or a mixture of shared apartment and office will be tested there, ”said the representative of the sporting goods manufacturer.
This is supplemented by various areas for work, such as highly creative, quiet and team areas. It is important to create the right place for every activity. Working in a digital context in particular is highly creative and, according to the manager, can no longer be carried out from a traditional desk alone. “The vision is to create an atmosphere that promotes flexibility and cooperation and breaks down hierarchies,” said the manufacturer’s representative.
For the company, it’s about getting faster and promoting creativity and innovation, said the representative. At the beginning the Flexidesk principle met with a lot of resistance, but if you look now, not all desks are occupied and the meeting rooms are always full. “It is communicated and networked. This ensures agility and speed and ultimately I have the feeling that it is also space-saving because many are somehow also in the home office on Friday or sometimes in the home office for two days.

NewWork using the example of an IT data center service provider

The SME participants have also already designed their first concepts for open spaces in the company. These mostly result from a planned renovation of the building. The IT data center service provider is also presenting its concept.
In the course of a renovation, an office space was converted into an open space concept together with a service provider and the inclusion of feedback from employees. Zones were created for highly concentrated, calm and creative work and teamwork. The aim was to offer the right workplace for every activity. “Working in IT in particular requires a high degree of flexibility, quick reactions and the incorporation of changes,” says the in-house consultant. “The aim is to create a suitable zone for every job. For highly concentrated work you can either go to the desk or go to our area with various beanbags with headphones. We have set up special areas for quiet work and set up a think tank for creative work groups. Since every employee has a laptop, it is easy to find a new job every hour ”, the consultant continues.
The entrepreneur’s consultant sees the concept as a success and is now planning to gradually renovate more areas in order to create more office space especially for concentrated work. In data center operations in particular, it is important to act quickly and effectively in the event of unwanted failures or updates in order to maintain an availability of 99.9%. According to the consultant, we can become faster and more agile, especially through new concepts.

Conclusion on NEwWork

It cannot currently be assumed that the concepts presented are already in a final stage. Especially in office concepts and mobile work, there are numerous open questions that need to be dealt with
The representative of the trade union from the roundtable is currently carrying out a more in-depth evaluation. The focus of this evaluation was the influence on the efficiency and the health burden. The implementation of NewWork and agile methods is often and gladly mentioned in his breath. The first samples show that the number of burnout cases examined cannot be related to agile methods or new office concepts, according to the union’s executive committee. There is also a higher level of communication and agility through new concepts.
However, according to the union’s board of directors, it is becoming increasingly difficult to perceive incorrect and overloading of employees and to protect them. New topics such as technostress due to constant availability and information overload due to a large amount of data are also increasing. These phenomena in particular are new and go hand in hand with increasing digitization and increased communication, which is also promoted specifically by new office concepts.
However, these studies are only random samples and not very informative, limited by the union’s executive committee. It is still exciting how the development of the Newwork will continue and what long-term consequences can be derived. To further develop these concepts, the union is in constant dialogue with the member companies and takes regular trips to the Silicon Valley.
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Work 4.0 – act in today

According to the study, work 4.0 should be established in companies today. The study sees 6 important pillars as drivers for the implementation of this so-called megatrend.
A Culture of innovation should encourage employees to get involved – open spaces should encourage creativity. There is also talk of intrapreneurship. In the block Future work one speaks of time and place sovereignty as well as a culture of results instead of presence. The guide should strengthen networks and dialogue skills – Labor policy is characterized by digital breaks. The organization of the company is characterized by flat hierarchies and communities – the Skills are creativity, entrepreneurship and ICT skills.
Tip: For more information on this, read my articles that I have under the hashtags Digital work and Future work have gathered.

Work 4.0 – act in tomorrow

Even if you could guess it, Work 4.0 is not just about the technological component. The most important thing is how people integrate into the world of work 4.0 – which skills are required for this. However, the technology in the new world of work is of course the decisive driver of the entire change (source: Cebit). Because without digitization, “Work 4.0” would not even exist. So: What are the prerequisites for the new digital world of work? What should the new thinking look like in this context? What changes will digitization result for the individual employee? And what new rules are we talking about?
The study also provided some answers to these questions. I would like to address some of the points here. The first thing that caught my eye was “child prodigies and nerds as top decision-makers” and “superiors as feel-good managers”. An approach that supports the distribution of responsibility and “serving leadership”. The creation of digital breaks is also becoming very important, as many studies in particular predict high burnout rates. “Commissioning” instead of hiring will also become more relevant, as external experts will gain in importance again – the “ Consulting 4.0 “Is thus confirmed.
It will also be exciting to see how companies want to train employees to become “hobby recruiters and entrepreneurs”. I am also curious about the importance of the framework Holocracy, Sociocracy and Democracy will take. Overall, there is a change in our working world that seems irreversible if companies want to survive (FAZ). One thing is certain: it will complex in management and companies will be challenged to carefully plan this new work. The increasing number of management frameworks alone shows that researchers see a lot of need in this area and that organizational development has become a top topic again at conferences. It remains exciting to see how this trend will work and how German companies will interpret it for themselves.
Reading tip: For more information, please read my article Leading digital in connection with the work of the future .

Machines will be colleagues – 25 theses on work 4.0

Networked work – people in harmony with robots and machines. What does this mean for the work of tomorrow? The real revolution ultimately takes place in the offices: Artificial intelligence and machine learning determine the new work, as many office jobs still manually copy data from left to right. The problem of “Boredom at work “will then probably be cleared from the world. In the further course of the study, 25 theses were compiled, which I would like to list here individually. In summary, it is clear:” Digitization does not come as a mild breeze, but as a storm. “I got the theses from of the St. Gallen Shareground Study .

THE DISCLOSURE OF THE ORGANIZATION

1. LIQUID INSTEAD OF RIGID
The new world of work is shaped by networks. Standardized back-end processes are in between
Company shared without this being visible to customers or employees. This creates
Workplaces without a clear organizational affiliation and products, without a clear sender.
2. PEER-TO-PEER INSTEAD OF HIERARCHY
Highly specialized professionals communicate in special interest communities around the world. Loyalty is no longer guided by organizational affiliation, but only by professional expertise. The loosened bonds also lead to the end of the ability to organize. Trade unions are already feeling this today: Commitment to general issues only takes place selectively.
3. ORDER INSTEAD OF HIRING
Companies rely less and less on the dem for the provision of specific services
Firmly connected workforce back. Global transparency of skills and availability
highly qualified specialists lead to “hiring on demand”. The employment relationship is changing
for work.
4. SAP INSTEAD OF MCKINSEY
Organizations are no longer structured along organizational charts; instead, complex IT systems provide standardized processes and forms of organization. It is cheaper to adapt the organization to the software than to individualize the software. Software standardization makes organizational forms more homogeneous.
5. OPEN INSTEAD OF CLOSED
Accelerated demands for transparency and the need for co-creation with customers (open innovation) lead to the opening and delimitation of previously closed company structures. Transitions between inside and outside become fluid, mastery knowledge such as patents lose their value. The ability to scale quickly and openly becomes the silver bullet. The “crowd” becomes part of the added value.
6. PROSUMENTS INSTEAD OF PROFESSIONAL PRODUCERS
Instead of employees, companies always rely on customers who, in addition to consumption, also provide many (digitizable) services for the company – often voluntarily and free of charge out of sheer enthusiasm for the product. With prosumerism they are blurred
Boundaries between producers and consumers. Voluntary digital work replaces professional employment.

WORK IN DIGITAL NETWORK ECONOMY

7. FROM EXECUTION TO MONITORING
The role of people in the production process is transformed from the provider of the work into
the supervisor of the machines. Routine processes and also physically demanding activities become
handled by them independently. Humans only control and intervene in an emergency.
8. MACHINERY AS COLLEAGUES, COOPERATION PARTNERS, CONTROLLERS
New forms of interaction between man and machine are emerging. Various types of game will coexist in the future. From people who control machines to machines as colleagues of people, to the merging of machine and person or even the complete takeover of the machines.
9. CLOUD AND CROWDWORKING AS TRANSITIONAL PHENOMENA
Digital services are broken down into smaller and smaller parts and delegated to “virtual laborers”. Big data analyzes can be used to precisely assign value contributions to individual employees. Cloud / Clickworkers provide their services in piecework. It is foreseeable that many of these activities will soon be fully digitized.
10. THE DATA READERS
With Big data Sufficient data is available for all areas of life. The ability to combine and interpret these in a meaningful way is a key qualification in digital work and cannot be substituted. Working with big data differs from traditional data analysis, however, because hypotheses are no longer required (“end of theory”).
11. WORK WITHOUT LIMITS
Highly qualified specialists perform work around the world as part of project work. Qualifications are global, transparent and comparable. The physical location of the service provider no longer plays a role. For the first time, work has the same mobility as capital.
12. PROFESSIONAL AND PRIVATE INDUSTRY
The traditional places and times of work are disappearing. For employees, this results in individual design potential, for example to better combine family and work, but also to new burdens (“always on”).
13. NON-LINEAR THINKING AS A HUMAN DOMAIN
The automation of work is finite, since creative activities remain that cannot be foreseen to be replaced by machines. These can mainly be found in very specific niches. Entrepreneurial skills, creativity and mastery of machines are considered difficult to substitute.
14. STRENGTHENING PERSONAL SERVICES
In high-wage countries, jobs with direct human interaction are upgraded. These jobs grow on a percentage basis. Standardizable and anonymous processes, on the other hand, especially in the field of ICT, are becoming the subject of offshoring and further efficiency pressure.
15. SELF-MANAGEMENT AS A CORE QUALIFICATION
Due to the flexible and needs-based awarding of orders to labor entrepreneurs, traditional work relationships and processes dissolve. The working time is made up of micro-working hours of various tasks, which the employee can adjust according to need and ability
put together.
16. CREATIVE AND PRODUCTION WORK GROWING TOGETHER
More and more often the providers of creative or intellectual performance are required, also materially
to implement. 3D printers and other tools are favoring this trend.
17. WE WONDERFUL CHILDREN
The increasing importance of IT opens the way for the “nerds” to the top floors of the company. What the musical child prodigies were in the past are now the precocious app tinkerers and data experts. This generation will make a significant contribution to the disruptive change in corporate cultures. From now on it is not formal qualifications, but exclusively technical skills that determine employability.
18. DIGITAL INCLUSION
Distance work, the anonymity of crowd and clickworking working relationships and the flexibilization of working hours also integrate social groups into the labor market that are not available for the classic normal employment relationship. This applies – as can be observed in Berlin, for example – for startups, but also for clickworkers in emerging countries.

CHALLENGES FOR LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION

19. CHALLENGE LATTE MACCHIATO WORKPLACE
The place of work of people in flexible employment relationships is spreading to the public space
out. Physical offices are temporary anchor points for human interaction, especially the
Serving networks. People work everywhere – just not at their own desk.
20. BREAD AND GAMES
Employees long for distraction and rewards, especially with standardized activities. Gamification and intuitive usability of IT interfaces are becoming more and more important and the work environment is approaching a virtual playing field. Employers are required to integrate playful design principles into standardized IT applications.
21. JOB-HOPPING AND CHERRY-PICKING AS A CHALLENGE FOR HR
The bond between employee and employer is loosening. Instead, flexible forms of work and cooperation mean that employees always have one foot in the labor market. This makes systematic personnel development more difficult. At the same time, expectations and increase
Employees’ demands for directly usable qualifications.
22. LEADING AT DISTANCE
The farewell to the spatially located work goes with a change from presence to
Result culture goes hand in hand. Managers have to learn that they are motivating more than controlling
become. The trick is to create personal ties through impersonal technical channels
build and maintain.
23. EXPLORE NEXT TO EXPLOIT
An increasing pace of innovation forces the constant replacement of promising new positions
Business areas and the transformation of existing business models (explore). Simultaneously
the core business, which is still profitable today, must be pursued as efficiently as possible
(exploit). Management becomes “two-handed” and acts equally in the present and in the future.
24. MATCHING WITH A CLICK OF THE MOUSE
Digital workers are quantified in the form of individual data packages – skills, experience, capacities. This makes it easier to assign orders precisely. However, disruptive factors in the data profile can also prevent matching. Personnel selection will be less intuitive, but also less oriented towards cultural adaptation.
25. GOOD DATA, BAD DATA
Sensors shape the “office of digital work”. Properties of the environment, the processes, the work results and the workers are continuously recorded in order to provide both the employer and the employee with information about the quality and improvement potential of the work. Practical benefits must be weighed against ethical considerations.
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Leading digital

Leading digital means market leadership through digital transformation of the company and / or the business model. The article deals with why companies are striving for this and how this change manifests itself exactly and which steps are necessary to implement it.

The trigger of the digital transformation

The digital transformation is called  the rapid growth of technology launches in German companies. Through global markets and a high level of competition, companies strive for differentiation (leading digital). Since 1970 the dynamics of the markets have increased sharply due to globalization and even large corporations like Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW are now threatened by IT giants like Apple and Google. It seems to be a race to digitize the automobile. In other industries, the conditions don’t seem to be any different. For this purpose, Niels Pfläging published the following illustration in his book, which shows the increase in complexity after 1970. For more information on the complexity of digital transformations, read my article on Complexity in management .

From settlers back to pioneers – leading digital

According to Brandes et al. “back to the risk”! The example of automobile manufacturers shows that it is no longer enough to just improve the established, but that new markets such as electric mobility must be opened up with the digital transformation. So from settlers to pioneers or to the “departure” to innovation.
So settlers rely on predictability, i.e. infrastructure such as rails and strict guidelines. So you have already founded a city and are trying to improve it permanently. Here lies the difference to the pioneer, who, on the other hand, creates new markets or cities and “makes something work”. According to Brandes et al. not overnight, but you have to approach it step by step. According to the authors, this is chaotic and aims to develop something new in order to survive. An example can be cited here when a city is threatened by a long ice age and the residents will all freeze to death sooner or later. For the pioneers, the idea of “get out of here and survive” counts while the settlers try to withstand the Ice Age as long as possible and to optimize the city accordingly.
But how can this be implemented in the digital transformation and how can companies create such a departure and fulfill the vision: “leading digital”? The digital work should provide information on this. Take a look at Brandes’ book  or read mine Article on Management Y .

Digital work

It felt like the great lightness of being. The workplace, no longer in an anonymous office tower. The working hours, no longer controlled by a clock, but designed by yourself. The notebook as an office, the network as a bridge to the world. The work as great freedom ( Friedrich Ebert Stiftung ). This is how the aforementioned foundation defines the project of digital work. This type of work could be an answer to digital transformation and leading digital.

People and digital work

As early as 2010, Appelo examined modern knowledge workers with its Framework Management 3.0 and found that these are a bizarre combination of management frameworks and are actually specified from front to back as a kind of “Frankenstein” monster about theories. Take a look at the book Appelo!
Back in 2016, authors called for “companies to be revitalized” (Pfläging) and provided various approaches such as Management Y, sociocracy or holacracy . All approaches are agile and evolutionary in their own way. However, one thing is certain for the authors: “Frankenstein’s Monster” does not seem to be able to cope with the digital transformation. Instead, they call for a new form of work and employees. Sattelberger et al. define them as “designers” in “agile networks” and realize that many organizations have many employees in the implementation role and are therefore increasingly overloaded. So this does not seem to be a sufficient answer to digital work and the vision of “leading digital” will hardly be fulfilled with it. Take a look at Sattelberger’s book!

Employees as “designers” and digital work

At current HR conferences, the topic of agile or digital HR is increasingly being dealt with as the main focus of German companies. Together we consider how to find and retain such employees. The former  however, should not be addressed in this article and can be found in an extra Article on agile HR can be read.
The figure below clearly shows that such employees demand and need a lot. According to many companies, you are asking too much. Certainly this statement can be correct in many cases. However, the figure by Brandes et al. Shows that some requirements also seem to make sense. in the Course of the roundtables It has been shown that companies make every effort to take on such demands and thereby become one “Agile” and “evolutionary” companies to walk. According to the first statements of the managers who work with me in the course of the research project, they even appear to be more successful and sustainable. More on this can be found in mine Article on digital leadership.

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Agile leadership is behavior

I found a great approach in the book by Gloger and Rößner. According to the authors, so-called “stars” are to be formed in the organization. These stars should “lead themselves” while managers should establish a “culture of success”. The author also includes a “culture of failure” and “allowing mistakes” to be part of this. The company is also characterized by a voluntary structure. That means everyone is voluntarily in the company and also gets involved voluntarily. According to the author, the manager does not write anyone to bring in or take on a special project. It has to be entirely voluntary. Take a look at Gloger and Rößner’s book. In addition, there is also some information in the article “ Frameworks for agility “.

Agile leadership – principles

I then watched some videos and articles by authors on agile leadership. The speakers speak of a “servant leader”. The task of the management is to enable the employee to work undisturbed and to implement his “dreams” in the company. Furthermore, sentences like: “Agile leadership has to be easy!” and “Agile leadership is behavior”. This means that managers should no longer “set an example” but rather “show”. You should be able to get work done again. The bonuses often paid beforehand should become appreciation, and structures and processes should be used as orientation for what managers need to create for employees.

Company as a host

In a conversation a participant of my roundtables told me that he sees his company as a host. In his company, his guests, i.e. the employees, should feel comfortable and enjoy coming back. I found this example very appropriate for “serving leadership”.

Digital transformation and digital leadership

Since the “digital transformation”, the term “digital leadership” has been established. The consulting firm “Deloitte” even promotes a fight for survival and publishes a study “Survival Strategy Digital Leadership”. However, based on current surveys, I find that actually many managers are still quite relaxed about digital transformation, a bit exaggerated. We must first wait for further studies to assess exactly whether we are “hyping” a trend here or whether it is really a struggle for survival.

Agility starts in the head

“Agility begins in the head” is the title of a presentation by Judith Anderesen 2016. The motivation of your lecture is also the topic of “survival”. She says: “Whoever serves the customer’s needs best will survive.” However, I think we should all start with ourselves and look carefully at how we correctly define agile leadership in our context and which of the so much propagated “best practices” we should really apply. After all, too much freedom also creates uncertainty. We should therefore carefully question the hype and decide for ourselves how we can establish agile leadership in our company. In any case, there is no question that we should definitely think about it. The book “Digital Leadership” defines the term with the following principles:

• Open communication
• Open access to information – sharing knowledge
• Intensive, cross-departmental collaboration
• Free space for self-directed work
• Definition of goals and sub-goals
• Instead of controlling the work – controlling the achievement of goals
• Promotion of personal responsibility

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How realistic is democracy in companies?

The authors of the book first assessed the feasibility of democracy in companies and came to the conclusion that this form appears attractive and realistic. The study was carried out among 1,000 employees. However, there is strong interest in this rather young idea (democracy in companies).

What is preventing companies from doing this?

On the basis of the survey, the author now turns to the possible obstacles for democratic companies. The top barriers, according to this study, seem to be: transparency, equity participation, and choice. Of course, the result is on the one hand logical, since classic companies and societies such as the AG are simply not made for democratically electing superiors. According to the author, a fundamental structural change is necessary here.

How do democratic companies “live”?

Many companies are already considering what such a democracy could look like. A thesis that is often given in various sources is: “Digital technologies facilitate co-determination”. Can the future look like this: employees choose managers, vote on new products, decide on working hours and customers? This topic is currently still highly controversial and offers space for further research. The fact is, however, that the current generation seems to have “no fancy” for outside control and, thanks to digital technologies, coordination processes are now also easy. The CEO of Microsoft Germany said: “We used to look for employees who do what we say, today we are looking for employees who do what we don’t say.” He sees this as a success factor, as decisions are often made too slowly. However, it remains open how and whether this type of democracy can contribute to the sustainability of companies. We are still at the beginning of our research and it will be exciting to see what findings will emerge.
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Statements about the world of work 4.0, which are likely

The role of people in the production process is transformed from the provider of work to the supervisor of the machines. Routine processes and also physically demanding activities are handled independently by them. Humans only control and intervene in an emergency.

I think this thesis is especially correct for IT. Many scripts and Excel macros make up a large part of our work to this day. Even mine Portal Projektify all possible activities are also automated. Here we follow the thesis of the decentralized autonomous company. So a company without people. The current focus is on automating all daily tasks. We are now also talking about chatbots and intelligent helpers. So I think that this thesis is already very true.

With Big data there are sufficient data for data for all areas of life. The ability to combine and interpret these in a meaningful way is a key qualification in digital work and cannot be substituted. Working with big data differs from traditional data analysis, however, because hypotheses are no longer required (“end of theory”).

We have currently collected a lot of data, but we are usually not able to evaluate all of them or we evaluate them and then ask ourselves: Well and what do we learn from it now? Even at the beginning of my doctoral thesis, I have 14 interviews for the Study agility in management carried out and when I have evaluated the data, I ask myself: “What does that tell me now?” A high level of key skills is therefore required in order to evaluate a large amount of unstructured data.

The departure from spatially located work goes hand in hand with a change from the presence culture to the result culture. Managers need to learn that they will motivate more than control. The trick is to build and maintain personal ties even through impersonal technical channels.

Home office, flexible desks, mobile work and even distributed teams as well as complete home office workplaces demand a new type of leadership from managers. Control is less possible and must be replaced by trust. How do I guide an employee via email and Skype? How do I manage the balancing act between controllability and control? I cannot currently find a common management method that gives an answer to these questions. In agile leadership in particular, the elements are missing, which is why we are now talking about digital leadership. I think this thesis is absolutely correct. Read more about this in digital leadership article.
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Top 3 statements about the world of work 4.0 that are not likely

Companies are relying less and less on the company’s workforce to provide specific services. Global transparency of skills and the availability of highly qualified specialists lead to “hiring on demand”. The employment relationship turns into a labor commitment.

When I addressed the topic in the roundtable, it was immediately viewed with skepticism and I, too, cannot imagine that we will only consist of external parties. Above all, the trend is currently more towards in-sourcing than out-souring. An agile corporate culture can often only happen on the basis of permanent employees. This was also confirmed to me by my participants in the round table. External people simply do not have a close bond with the company, which will soon be gone anyway.

The increasing importance of IT opens the way for the “nerds” to the top floors of the company. What the musical child prodigies were in the past are now the precocious app tinkerers and data experts. This generation will make a significant contribution to the disruptive change in corporate cultures. From now on it is not formal qualifications, but exclusively technical skills that determine employability.

Leadership is still a supreme discipline. The quality of the work often depends on the boss and every second dismissal should even be because of a boss. I would therefore argue that empathy and agile values are becoming more important for a leadership role every day. Read more about this in Article on leadership in digital change .

The place of work of people in flexible working relationships is spreading to the public space. Physical offices are temporary anchor points for human interaction that primarily serve the networks. People work everywhere – just not at their own desk.

Clear. Everything is becoming mobile, flexible and automatic, but when I did the first surveys, it turns out that everyone actually likes to go to their workplace. I also asked Generation Z for this and came to similar results. The round table also showed that people are creatures of habit and that they want a permanent job. For example, despite a free choice of seats, everyone was sitting in the same place in the team again. So there is currently hardly any argument why the classic office should die out and nobody goes there anymore. To me, the office as an anchor point for interactions sounds more like this: We just go to the office to chat and to evaluate the Bayern game from yesterday. Read more about this in Article on the Roundtable on Work 4.0.
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Conclusion: There is a lot of speculation!

The world of work 4.0 is coming and we are eagerly awaiting the innovations. The workplace is digitizing and everything is somehow becoming agile and mobile. We can currently only speculate what these changes will entail. In my Article on digitization in the workplace I have already pointed out opportunities and risks. Some things like more flexible work and more automation are clearly emerging and are understandable as theses. But on the other hand, for theses like: “Man will command a drone army at some point”, I currently do not find any valid arguments. Sentences like: “Everything will be totally flexible and everyone will get involved in the company” will, I think, hardly come across. Not every worker seeks total self-fulfillment at work. So there will continue to be wage work and even a motivated employee has a bad day or has looked a little too deep into the glass the evening before and just wants some peace and quiet. That is why we can currently only speculate what will actually be implemented in the world of work 4.0 and what will not. For example, I would not want the reception of a hotel to be digitized. I am happy to be welcomed by an employee there and also to be greeted with a handshake by my trainer laughing at the gym. We just have to understand more precisely: What do we expect from the world of work 4.0?
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Digitization in the workplace: Home offices are usually better equipped than the office

In the Study by WiWo on digitization in the workplace can be summarized as follows: “ Digitization is more advanced at home than at work in the office – this is shown by a study among German office workers. “ The study continues: The road to a truly digital office is still a long one. Because at the moment, the majority of German workplaces are not equipped to enable knowledge workers to really work digitally. Many administrative activities that can be handled much faster digitally are still carried out in analog form. That is the central result of a study by the hosting service provider Host Europe, which is based on a YouGov survey of 1,000 employees with office workplaces.

Status quo on digitization in the workplace

The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs published a digitization monitor. The results of the study in a nutshell:

• The majority of all respondents in companies with at least 50 employees subject to social security contributions use digital information and communication technologies (ICT) in their everyday work.
• While only half of the low-skilled use ICT for work, almost all of the high-skilled do.
• Managers are equipped with mobile devices by their employers much more often than employees without managerial responsibility.
• Almost four fifths of employees have experienced a change in the technical equipment of their workplace in the last five years, and here too the proportion increases with the level of training.
• As a result of the technological change, employees experience physical relief and reduced demands on their own skills and competencies on the one hand, but also the need to develop and multitask on the other.
• Almost 30 percent of employees report physical relief due to technological innovations, 15 percent report decreasing demands on their own skills and competencies.
• Employees who perceive decreasing demands take part less often in further professional development.
• Almost 80 percent of employees see the need to constantly develop their own skills due to technological changes. 65 percent perceive a consolidation of the work.
• Employees who perceive a need for further development take part in further professional development more frequently.
• 13 percent of employees consider it likely that their job will be taken over by a machine in the future.
• Around a third of employees experience greater freedom of choice due to technological developments.
• More than half of the respondents perceive an increase in their own productivity.

This is how digitization is changing the world of work

In one Article on Xing the changes caused by digitization in the workplace are shown. First, the article mentions the increasing spatial and temporal independence that results from the fact that employees can use laptops and other mobile devices to carry out their tasks from almost anywhere and increasingly at flexible times. Employees are thus more flexible overall and can better reconcile work and private life.
The importance of lifelong learning was also mentioned. More than ever, employees have to be ready to constantly learn new things, as the half-life of knowledge is significantly decreasing.
In addition, there is a high level of automation and this makes work much easier. The article mentions: Doctors, for example, who are shown important information about their patients using augmented reality glasses while they are operating, or mechanics who are shown the next steps for their planned repairs virtually and flexibly.
The article also notes an increased complexity and says: Information is continuously made available to employees via a variety of channels. Multi-tasking and the ability to focus become a basic requirement, so to speak. The speed in the company is increasing overall – there is a constant acceleration, which employees have to adapt to with agility and flexibility.
Last but not least, the article by Xing states that in the digitized world of work people work more in team structures than before. Above all, interdisciplinary teams that extend across different company areas or company boundaries are gaining in importance in order to achieve the best solutions for complex problems.

Chances of digitization in the workplace

The subjects of the study by the BMAS say about the opportunities of digitization: The technological innovations have given me more freedom of choice in structuring my work. Currently, 32% of those questioned confirm this sentence. The graphic below also shows that women with medium qualifications perceive the increase in their own work performance slightly more often than men due to technological innovations. Only minor differences can be observed between employees with different training levels and between occupational groups.

Risks of digitization in the workplace

Just as there are opportunities, there are also risks. Of the Articles by education experts shows this. The first risk is a devaluation of human labor. Intelligent software makes human work superfluous in some areas or devalues it financially. Professions such as salespeople, copywriter, language teacher or bank clerk are losing their social importance. Internet platforms are now providing service providers or tradespeople at low prices.
Another risk is the stress-related illness due to constant availability. Employees who are constantly available and constantly have to take on new tasks often suffer from an increasing workload. The result is increasing stress-related illnesses such as burn-out or depression. Due to the increasing pressure, many people can no longer switch off from work and only think about their job in their free time.

Furthermore, data protection is a high risk. The blog of education experts says: The topic of data protection has also played a major role in the digitized world of work, and not just since Edward Snowden’s revelations. Employees need to be confident that their data is secure.
The last risk is the “transparent employee”. Here the blog article by the education experts says: Whoever gives information about himself on social networks, be it on Xing, Twitter or Facebook, may turn himself into a transparent employee. In the worst case, it can even damage his professional success. It is not uncommon for companies to use the personal profiles of their employees in a targeted manner to find out about them and to make inquiries.
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Conclusion: digitization in the workplace is coming!

In the future, the use of digital gadgets in the workplace will increase and human work will change through automation and intelligent machines. People will probably increasingly take over areas in which a high level of creativity and thinking is required. In the last part of the article we see that digitization in the workplace also harbors the risks. Employees have to learn to deal with digitization and “just switch off”. It is therefore important to build digital skills among employees and managers so that digitization can support people instead of becoming torture.
Reading tip: Opportunities of the digital workplace and Risks of the digital workplace
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Overview of the terms

First I would like to give an overview of the many terms. I define work 4.0 as an umbrella term for the influence of digitization on work. In my opinion, other terms describe certain aspects of this new digital work. The table is from the source (Lindner 2019).

WHAT IS WORK 4.0

As a term, “Work 4.0” deals with the future of work in the digital age. The background is above all the problems (but also opportunities) that are causing progressive mechanization in the labor market and the general structures of companies. in the 3. Round table discussed what the term means in the context of the participants. The following characteristics of Work 4.0 were adopted by consensus:

• Work 4.0 has to be agile!
• Agility needs freedom!
• Good work is voluntary!
• The term “leadership” has to give way to “guiding”!
• Work will be more dynamic and short-cycle in the future!
• Work 4.0 is supported digitally!

In the context of Work 4.0, the focus is no longer on technical expertise, as it was many years ago, but on people. Sentences such as technology as a helper to humans and humans as “monitors” of technology underline this thesis. Overall, they have Participant in my roundtable Three approaches to work 4.0 were presented, which could shape Work 4.0.

THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE

According to many magazines, one enabler of Work 4.0 is fast and progressive digitization. The workplace is increasingly being supported by tools and other technologies and is therefore “somehow digital”. These changes result in new possibilities such as mobile or remote work as well as a high degree of networking of employees. In one Roundtable said one participant In addition: You can now work up to 3 days a week from your home office without losing touch with the team.
But it seems that this development is still in its infancy. In the Study by WiWo on digitization in the workplace shows: “ Digitization is more advanced at home than at work in the office – this is shown by a study among German office workers. “ So the full potential of the digital workplace does not seem to be available yet. Read more about this below Articles on the digital workplace .

NewWork – definition of work 4.0?

The New Work concept was developed by the Austro-American social philosopher Frithjof Bergmann, based on his investigation of the concept of freedom. Of the NewworkBlog says the following: The classic “nine-to-five job” in the office will soon be a thing of the past. The ties to fixed workplaces as well as standardized times and organizational structures continue to dissolve. Instead, work is becoming multimobile: Home office, remote work and trust work are the models of the future that blur the boundaries between work and leisure.

Overall, Petry’s graphic shows the vision of Newwork. So it means: work when, where and with whoever you want. One thing is clear: the “where” dimension indicates mobile work and “when” indicates an easing of core times. Currently, however, the dimension “with whom you want” is still in open dialogue and can be interpreted, among other things, through the idea of the hashtag Futurework. Have a look at mine too Article on NewWork for a detailed explanation of the idea.
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Futurework – work 4.0

Overall, the investigation of the hashtag shows a strong focus on room and office concepts to promote agility in the company. Sure, there is also talk of a cultural change and this is also dealt with in great detail, but office concepts are predominantly evaluated. The following sentence sums up the topic very well: “The office is changing into a place of communication and networking. For this purpose, situation-oriented rooms are required that promote creative exchange or project work as well as offer retreats for concentrated and confidential work and optimally support routine activities. ”(Source Detecon). In the illustration you will find an arrangement of the idea with different office spaces. These should make it possible to work in different teams in different places. Have a look at mine too Article on the topic of futurework .

Agile methods and work 4.0

Many magazines and experts call for increased agility in companies and increased work with agile methods. Although numerous agile methods currently exist, Scrum has largely established itself as best practice. In combination with the new flexible work in the course of NewWork and new work environments (Futurework), a new form of work with agile methods could increase productivity. The principles and values of agility were laid down in the agile manifesto in 2001, which is the basis for all agile methods. In contrast to classic methods, agile means an orientation towards added value, ie achieving the “best” result at a fixed point in time with the available budget.
Now the following is not intended to explain the methodology behind Scrum, but rather the challenge of working with an agile method such as B. Scrum, because Gloger et al. (2016, p. 2) already stated: “The knowledge of methods is not the biggest hurdle when converting to the agile model, but the internal corporate culture and the change in internal processes.” Working with agile methods requires, above all, a high level of self-organization on the part of employees. Many employees are used to long-term, plan-oriented and homogeneous work. However, the new form of work requires a continuous speed orientation and heterogeneity. In line with these new flexibility requirements, which go hand in hand with agile methods, it is therefore important to protect employees from inappropriate and excessive stress by means of appropriate agreements and to ensure a work-life balance.

Conclusion: what is work 4.0 – definition

So in this text the question: What is Work 4.0 dealt with? It turns out that the term is the background for a collection of concepts. Work in the context of this work 4.0 is technological, more agile, faster and more short-cycle. The enabler for Work 4.0 is the digital transformation of the workplace, which, however, is often only just beginning. Work 4.0 can be designed with the vision of NewWork (work when, where and with whom you want) as well as with new office concepts.

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