New technologies – new labor relations

In the not-too-distant future it is estimated that 1/3 of jobs that require employees with a degree will be done be smart machines and software.

The stereotypical traditional workplace environment consisting of the employees and the company has already changed as new forms of digital employment have been introduced in recent years and spreading rapidly using the internet. Such forms are telecommuting and telework, the separation and outsourcing of management departments of the company, online work, digital participatory work, etc. A typical example of new forms of work is participatory work which is developed on an online digital platform where participants operate separately and independently, the “company” assigns a “task” that may be the construction of a webpage or the advertisement of a product and the “co-workers” undertake to complete the project for a set fee.

The new forms of work also contribute to the change of the hierarchically structured organization of businesses as the IT department, a new department of ever increasing importance, is added to the traditional sales, production, etc. departments. Meanwhile, there is always the option to outsource departments to third parties, in order to increase competitiveness and reduce employer costs.

A key characteristic of these new forms of digital work is the vagueness of the working hours as the workplace is also expanding and going beyond the organization of traditional office work. In the new work environment, the employee will be permanently “connected” to the corporate network and as a result the separation between personal and work life will become increasingly blurred.