Technology in the workplace: Opportunities and challenges

In the current economic environment, organizations are increasingly relying on technology, resulting in higher efficiency, reduced physical human effort, blurring boundaries between working life and private life, and more flexibility for both employers and employees. In this chapter we focus on the impact of three different technology-related changes in the workplace: (1) telework, (2) automation, and (3) algorithmic management. First, we discuss how telework has gained tremendous popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it impacts performance, work-life balance, and social aspects of work. Second, we focus on the positive and negative sides of automation and digitalization: improvements of working and living conditions on the one hand and anxiety and stress among workers on the other. Third, we discuss how AI-based algorithms are used to direct, evaluate, and discipline workers and how workers respond to these forms of algorithm management. All in all, we provide organizations with suggestions and advice as to how they can successfully implement these new technologies in a human-friendly manner. In doing so, we hope that this chapter will stimulate interesting new avenues of research for understanding challenges and opportunities associated with technology in the workplace.