HRM, Work design & Technology
Lecture 1: Technology x HRM and work
The changing technological landscape
Is this time any different?
o Pace of change (e.g. Moore’s law → exponential growth)
o Global connectivity
o Disruption across all sectors
Type of technologies (STARA)
o Smart technology
o Artificial intelligence
o Robotics
o Algorithms
Job design challenges related to technology
“the existing, overly passive perspective focuses on how humans need
to adapt to technology, rather than how work designs and technology
might be adapted to better meet human competencies, needs, and
values.”
“work design theory is ideally positioned to reorient the current debates
towards a more proactive stance” (Parker & Grote, 2022, p.1173)
Job design challenges related to technology
Recap Job Characteristics Model (Hackman & Oldham, 1976)
,Technology vs. skill variety and use
• JCM: importance of varied work making use of one’s skills
• Benefit:
o Reducing repetitive/manual tasks
o Opportunities for skill upgrades
• Challenge:
o Technology may reduce the need for certain skills (deskilling)
o Technology may create new requirements for technical
expertise and digital skills (e.g. data analysis, SEO,
cybersecurity, machine learning)
o Technology may create new low-skilled jobs
Technology vs. social and relational aspects
• JCM: significance tied to relational job characteristics (e.g. contact,
support, beneficiaries)
• Benefit:
o Improved collaboration and inclusion
o New scripts (e.g. more direct, explicit emotions, call etiquette)
• Challenge:
o Hindering relational experiences
o Miscommunication
o Isolation
Technology vs. job autonomy and control
• JCM: Job autonomy is crucial for enhancing meaning, motivation, and
managing work demands.
• Benefit: more flexible work arrangements
o Flexible scheduling of work (e.g. on-call workers:
accept/decline shifts)
o Flexible work location (e.g. digital nomads = remote workers)
o Flexible employment relationship (e.g. platform work: Uber,
Deliveroo etc.)
• Challenge:
o More compulsive use (autonomy paradox)
o More organizational control
o New precarious jobs (=instability)
o White vs. blue collar workers
Technology vs. job feedback
• JCM: feedback important for learning/mastery and performance
• Benefit:
o Greater opportunities for feedback
o More timely and accurate feedback
o Pulse surveys
o Real-time customer feedback
o Sales dashboards (>CRM)
o Data from wearables
, • Challenge:
o Feedback might be inadequate (e.g. generic chatbot answer)
o Technology increases punitive use of feedback (e.g. negative
review/workplace surveillance)
“ADAPT tracks workers’ ability to meet their quotas—the
number of tasks they are supposed to perform per hour.
The system also tracks ToT or “Time off Task,” which
means time when the worker is logged off their device
for lunch or bathroom breaks. Exceeding a certain
threshold of ToT generates “ToT points,” and workers
who accumulate too many are subject to warnings and,
if precarious, risk non-renewal of their contracts. Workers
have reported that the system has been used to
automatically terminate workers through messages sent
through the barcode scanner.”
Technology vs. job demands
• JCM: not directly
• Benefit:
o More stimulating work (e.g. less admin)
o Lower physical demands
• Challenge:
o Less stimulating work (e.g. digital red tape, microtasks)
o More musculoskeletal disorders
o Technostress (overload, invasion, complexity, insecurity,
uncertainty)
Conclusion and possible interventions
, A. Proactively Design Work Roles When Implementing New
Technologies
• Look at how tech will affect jobs (e.g., algorithmic control
system vs. meaningful decisions)
B. Ensure Human-Centered Principles in Technology
Development and Procurement
• Technology should fit people, not the other way around.
• Involve workers early when choosing or building new systems.
C. Promote Policy-Level Support for Safe, Healthy, and
Meaningful Work Design
• Companies can’t handle this alone
• Rules should make sure tech supports fair, safe, and decent
work.
D. Invest in Education and Training for Digital Skills and Human-
Centered Work Design
• Teaching workers to use new technology.
• Leaders, managers, and policymakers also need to learn what
good work looks like and how technology affects it.
• Also see lecture 4 on L&D.
Work design (theory) valuable lens to look at technology
• has a direct influence on the actions and experiences of employees,
and ultimately the team and organizational results
• is very actionable and intuitive (more than culture, technology, HR
systems etc.)
Technology is not inherently good or bad. Its impact depends on
proactive design choices, inclusion of human centric principles,
policy environment and worker skills.
Work design exercise: Design two courthouse jobs
• The courthouse is hiring, and has 16 different important tasks that
should be put together forming two jobs consisting of 8 tasks each.
• Multiple strategies:
o Alt 1: Pure specialization (efficient, but boring for one role).
o Alt 2: Court-focused (clear accountability).
o Alt 3: Enrichment (both jobs have mix of tasks—most
motivating).
• This has been done before! (Campion et al., 1991; Parker et al.,
2019). Main conclusions:
o Specialization strategy was most popular
o Managers and students did not differ significantly in their
design strategy: “a mechanistic or work simplification
approach may be the most natural or predisposed orientation
Lecture 1: Technology x HRM and work
The changing technological landscape
Is this time any different?
o Pace of change (e.g. Moore’s law → exponential growth)
o Global connectivity
o Disruption across all sectors
Type of technologies (STARA)
o Smart technology
o Artificial intelligence
o Robotics
o Algorithms
Job design challenges related to technology
“the existing, overly passive perspective focuses on how humans need
to adapt to technology, rather than how work designs and technology
might be adapted to better meet human competencies, needs, and
values.”
“work design theory is ideally positioned to reorient the current debates
towards a more proactive stance” (Parker & Grote, 2022, p.1173)
Job design challenges related to technology
Recap Job Characteristics Model (Hackman & Oldham, 1976)
,Technology vs. skill variety and use
• JCM: importance of varied work making use of one’s skills
• Benefit:
o Reducing repetitive/manual tasks
o Opportunities for skill upgrades
• Challenge:
o Technology may reduce the need for certain skills (deskilling)
o Technology may create new requirements for technical
expertise and digital skills (e.g. data analysis, SEO,
cybersecurity, machine learning)
o Technology may create new low-skilled jobs
Technology vs. social and relational aspects
• JCM: significance tied to relational job characteristics (e.g. contact,
support, beneficiaries)
• Benefit:
o Improved collaboration and inclusion
o New scripts (e.g. more direct, explicit emotions, call etiquette)
• Challenge:
o Hindering relational experiences
o Miscommunication
o Isolation
Technology vs. job autonomy and control
• JCM: Job autonomy is crucial for enhancing meaning, motivation, and
managing work demands.
• Benefit: more flexible work arrangements
o Flexible scheduling of work (e.g. on-call workers:
accept/decline shifts)
o Flexible work location (e.g. digital nomads = remote workers)
o Flexible employment relationship (e.g. platform work: Uber,
Deliveroo etc.)
• Challenge:
o More compulsive use (autonomy paradox)
o More organizational control
o New precarious jobs (=instability)
o White vs. blue collar workers
Technology vs. job feedback
• JCM: feedback important for learning/mastery and performance
• Benefit:
o Greater opportunities for feedback
o More timely and accurate feedback
o Pulse surveys
o Real-time customer feedback
o Sales dashboards (>CRM)
o Data from wearables
, • Challenge:
o Feedback might be inadequate (e.g. generic chatbot answer)
o Technology increases punitive use of feedback (e.g. negative
review/workplace surveillance)
“ADAPT tracks workers’ ability to meet their quotas—the
number of tasks they are supposed to perform per hour.
The system also tracks ToT or “Time off Task,” which
means time when the worker is logged off their device
for lunch or bathroom breaks. Exceeding a certain
threshold of ToT generates “ToT points,” and workers
who accumulate too many are subject to warnings and,
if precarious, risk non-renewal of their contracts. Workers
have reported that the system has been used to
automatically terminate workers through messages sent
through the barcode scanner.”
Technology vs. job demands
• JCM: not directly
• Benefit:
o More stimulating work (e.g. less admin)
o Lower physical demands
• Challenge:
o Less stimulating work (e.g. digital red tape, microtasks)
o More musculoskeletal disorders
o Technostress (overload, invasion, complexity, insecurity,
uncertainty)
Conclusion and possible interventions
, A. Proactively Design Work Roles When Implementing New
Technologies
• Look at how tech will affect jobs (e.g., algorithmic control
system vs. meaningful decisions)
B. Ensure Human-Centered Principles in Technology
Development and Procurement
• Technology should fit people, not the other way around.
• Involve workers early when choosing or building new systems.
C. Promote Policy-Level Support for Safe, Healthy, and
Meaningful Work Design
• Companies can’t handle this alone
• Rules should make sure tech supports fair, safe, and decent
work.
D. Invest in Education and Training for Digital Skills and Human-
Centered Work Design
• Teaching workers to use new technology.
• Leaders, managers, and policymakers also need to learn what
good work looks like and how technology affects it.
• Also see lecture 4 on L&D.
Work design (theory) valuable lens to look at technology
• has a direct influence on the actions and experiences of employees,
and ultimately the team and organizational results
• is very actionable and intuitive (more than culture, technology, HR
systems etc.)
Technology is not inherently good or bad. Its impact depends on
proactive design choices, inclusion of human centric principles,
policy environment and worker skills.
Work design exercise: Design two courthouse jobs
• The courthouse is hiring, and has 16 different important tasks that
should be put together forming two jobs consisting of 8 tasks each.
• Multiple strategies:
o Alt 1: Pure specialization (efficient, but boring for one role).
o Alt 2: Court-focused (clear accountability).
o Alt 3: Enrichment (both jobs have mix of tasks—most
motivating).
• This has been done before! (Campion et al., 1991; Parker et al.,
2019). Main conclusions:
o Specialization strategy was most popular
o Managers and students did not differ significantly in their
design strategy: “a mechanistic or work simplification
approach may be the most natural or predisposed orientation
