The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our working environment

The project investigates how the economic and social disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the digitalisation of the working environment in the short and medium term, and whether they will even act as a catalyst for a digitalisation push.

The project “Automation, digitalisation and virtualisation of the working environment in the wake of the COVID 19 crisis“ investigates how the economic and social disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the digitalisation of the working environment in the short and medium term, and whether they will even act as a catalyst for a digitalisation push.

Research questions: Different perspectives on digitalization & work

The research includes five sets of questions:

Is the crisis causing greater investment in automation technologies, such as robotics, software, or artificial intelligence? Does this push promote substitution of labor in industrial and service occupations?
Is there an accelerated introduction of digital technologies aimed at changes in business models, production models and work organization? Are occupational profiles, qualifications and working conditions changing as a result?
Expansion of mobile working through digital tools: Are companies' efforts to make work less location-dependent a lasting phenomenon? How does it affect forms of collaboration, work-life balance, and gender-based inequalities?
Reshoring: does the COVID-19 crisis encourage geographic restructuring of value chains, e.g., through regional integration and consolidation of capacities?
Platform work: are there changes in the quantity and quality of non-standard forms of employment mediated through digital platforms?

Aim: Shaping the future of work politically

The project's methodology aims to identify profound structural changes that will outlast the immediate economic shock. The assumption is that the effects of the crisis may be shaped by institutional frameworks and policy interventions related to employment, social security systems, social partnerships and investment programs. The analysis therefore also aims to identify policy design options that can mitigate or prevent negative consequences for employees. It also focuses on approaches that aim to use the crisis as an opportunity for a socially balanced and inclusive transformation of the world of work.

Cooperation Partner: Institute for Innovation and Technology (iit), VDI; Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE)
Runtime: 1 January 2021 - 30 September 2023
Funding: Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs