The digital transformation of work: A relational view

Conversation about the current and potential effects of digital technologies on the nature of work is raging within scholarly and practitioner communities. Artificial intelligence, robotics, data analytics, digital platforms, and automation, among other technologies, are prompting a swift and profou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Business ethics (Oxford, England) England), 2021-01, Vol.30 (1), p.157-167
Main Authors: Rodriguez‐Lluesma, Carlos, García‐Ruiz, Pablo, Pinto‐Garay, Javier
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Artificial intelligence
Differentiation
Intelligence
Job insecurity
Organizational culture
Robotics
Surveillance
Technology
Transformation
Unemployment
Work
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Summary:Conversation about the current and potential effects of digital technologies on the nature of work is raging within scholarly and practitioner communities. Artificial intelligence, robotics, data analytics, digital platforms, and automation, among other technologies, are prompting a swift and profound transformation of work. Building on Pierpaolo Donati's relational sociology, we examine the changes these technologies are likely to bring about in work as a human relation. Despite the very real threats of unemployment, job insecurity, precariousness, and surveillance, technology may also encourage the emergence of a work culture that shifts the scales toward a relational realm rather than a transactional one. To this end, we argue that work should be understood as a social relation with four dimensions: exchange value, intrinsic extra‐economic purpose, communication for reciprocal services, and correspondence with primary human needs according to use values. Understanding the digital transformation of work from this point of view requires comprehending the differentiation and integration of these four dimensions.
ISSN:0962-8770
2694-6416
1467-8608
2694-6424
DOI:10.1111/beer.12323