The world of work is currently undergoing a period of radical change. The digital revolution has only just begun and will not only transform the nature of work and working life, but also create a new awareness. Digitalisation sounds promising. Hyped up by the media, at first glance it promises nothing but benefits for companies and their employees. Flexibility, mobility and a better work-life balance. Yet the touted benefits are not what they seem. Like a double-edged sword, they also harbour weaknesses. If not managed properly, they can quickly lead to burnout. Yet one benefit is striking: does digitalisation drive emancipation forward?
Flexibility and mobility
Mobile and flexible: evocative adjectives that give the impression that today’s working reality is more relaxed than usual. Yet this impression is misleading. For many employees, for example, working from home is no longer a rarity. Thanks to laptops, smartphones and mobile email, it is now possible to work from anywhere. The traditional 9-to-5 model has had its day, as employees increasingly have the opportunity to organise their working day individually and flexibly. The days when people were required to be present at work from morning to night are now a thing of the past. Studies have also long since proven that this working model does not encourage employees to be lazy, but rather gives their productivity the necessary boost.
For an increasing number of companies, the crucial question is not how long someone has worked, but what the end result is. Performance has become the order of the day and, combined with greater flexibility, is blurring the boundaries between work and private life. Once that boundary has been crossed, it becomes increasingly difficult to escape the pressure of being constantly available. Employees find themselves under constant strain. Their main task, particularly in the future, will be to find ways to redraw their personal boundary between work and private life in order to protect themselves from the long-term health consequences.
Gender and the Digital Revolution: Benefits for Women?
Women today are more likely than their male counterparts to work in jobs that, due to the digitalisation process, will cease to exist in a few years’ time. Women are represented in above-average numbers, particularly in clerical and administrative roles. According to the German Civil Servants’ Federation (dbb), the risk that the blurring of boundaries will emerge sooner or later, particularly in these sectors, is already becoming apparent. Whilst working from home and greater flexibility offer the advantage of enabling women to better balance work and family life in future, ‘availability’ must not be misunderstood as meaning they must be on call at all times. The dbb’s aim is to set the course for gender-equitable digitalisation over the next five years.
The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) has also addressed the question of whether digitalisation is a curse or a blessing for women. It holds out the prospect of a better work-life balance for women. However, there is a risk of becoming overburdened by stress and multitasking.
New ways of working – co-working
It was not so long ago that working from home was regarded as an extravagant way of organising one’s work. No sooner had the model become established across a wide variety of corporate cultures than a new trend known as co-working began to emerge. Digitalisation is making the path to self-employment easier. Freelancers and start-ups are seeking to gain a foothold, particularly in the online sector.
But, particularly when starting their own business, they lack the capital to set up their own office space. Many new entrepreneurs therefore turn to so-called co-working spaces. Several companies share a few square metres and split the costs of rent and office equipment. The advantage is that you get to chat, pick up tips or perhaps even win a new client for your business in a convenient way.
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