Work And Organization In A Digital Industrial Context

There are clear signs that digitalization attempts such as Industry 4.0 will become more apparent in workplaces. This development requires reflections and considerations so we do not create more problems than we solve. In our paper, we have raised several questions related to the Industry 4.0 that need answers: Is Industry 4.0 a discourse, an organizational model, or just technology? Does the requirement for flexibility call for a new labour market? How will Industry 4.0 affect competence and skill requirements? Will Industry 4.0 encourage a new gender order? Will Industry 4.0 take over dangerous routine work or will old work environmental problems appear in new contexts and for other groups of workers? Can we rely on robots as work mates or will they spy on us and report to management? Based on our analysis, we addressed four knowledge gaps that need more research in relation to the digitalization of work: The relationship between new technology, working conditions, qualifications, identity, and gender; the future of the workers' collective; crowdsourcing in an industrial context; and human-machine interaction with a focus on integrity issues.