WEBINAR PROGRAMME

The Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the government of one of the three provinces of the Basque Autonomous community, initiated in 2020 a deliberative process using action research to determine, through the discussion with representatives of firms, firm associations and universities what the core challenges of work would be in the future. The main conclusion was that the government should initiate innovative policies to help firms make work meaningful, as this would be a key dimension of the wellbeing of individuals and the competitiveness of firms.

In the presentation we will elaborate on action research as a methodology for this process, the collaborative governance arrangement to facilitate the collaborative work of government with firms and one specific case of a firm that has worked with this methodology.

Workplace innovation has a long tradition in the German Automotive Industry. Inspired by Volvo’s experiments, German car companies throughout the 1980s and 1990s implemented various forms of participation-oriented forms of teamwork granting autonomy to shopfloor workers. Although work organisation has been modified during the last two to three decades, the automotive industry is still a stronghold of worker participation in Germany.

The webinar looks into current developments in the German automotive industry. How is the ongoing dual transformation of decarbonisation and digitalisation impacting workplace innovation for shopfloor workers? Based on case studies in German OEM and suppliers, the webinar will discuss a polarisation trend within workplace innovation. While the core workforces of OEM and large suppliers enjoy relatively stable forms of workplace innovation, the opportunities for contingent workers and the employees of suppliers are shrinking.

A recording of this webinar can be found on our recordings page.

The Introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies opens up a new space of action for trades unions in influencing decision-making at firm level. This webinar will shed light on the role and influence of trade unions on the adoption of new technologies, drawing on evidence from the engineering and automotive industrial district on the outskirts of Bologna.

Valeria Cirillo is Associate Professor of Political Economy at the Department of Political Science of the University of Bari and is an external affiliate of the Institute of Economics of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa.

A recording of this webinar can be found on our recordings page.

Organisations experienced a 435% increase in ransomware in 2022, and the World Economic Forum’s cybersecurity report states that 95% of cyber incidents can be traced back to human errors. So how can organisations prepare themselves for cyberattacks, and what does a people-centred approach to cyber-resilience look like?

Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) leads the national center for research-driven innovation in cyber security for critical sectors. The goal is to make Norway the most secure country in the world. Knowing that 95% of all security breaches are caused by human actions, organizational and innovation studies are important for the center. The talk will ask how a security breach will influence workplace innovation, and how to learn what to do in a critical situation. To illustrate this, the talk will concentrate on a real breach in a multinational company, giving the story more depth and a better understanding of the organisational mechanisms in play.

A recording of this webinar can be found on our recordings page.

This webinar will consider what it means to put the human at the heart of Industry 5.0 and why it has been so hard to move innovation beyond the 19th century paradigm of techno-centrism. Realising the strategic advantages of Industry 5.0 requires organizations to understand what makes work human, and what is distinctively human about work: skill and skilful practice. As well as making work meaningful, skilful practice can be a powerful source of innovation but too often managers misrecognise skill, undervaluing employees. Realising the benefits of Industry 5.0 will require an ‘upskilling’ of management to move beyond an efficiency paradigm to recognise, reward and develop the skills that matter strategically today.

Chris Land is a Professor of Work and Organization at Anglia Ruskin University and director of the Centre for Research into the Organization of Work and Consumption. His research is concerned primarily with work, how work is changing, and how it intersects with technology, consumption and culture. His current focus is on ‘the future of work’ as imagined in science-fiction, high-tech engineering and ‘Industry 5.0’ in practice and in academic and policy discourses. Other projects include: the quality of work in neo-craft industries like craft brewing; wellbeing and its intersection with work; the position of coffee growers in global commodity chains.

A recording of this webinar can be found on our recordings page.

This webinar will focus on the workers’ view on Industry 5.0. Industry 5.0 represents a significant shift from the automation-focused Industry 4.0 to a model that prioritises human-centric approaches. IndustriAll Europe underscores the importance of the ‘human-in-command’ principle, which places human workers at the centre of any industrial process and technological applications. This principle is crucial in preventing job displacement and the intensification of work, common risks associated with digital transformation. Digital technologies should augment human labour, protecting workers from fatigue and maintaining their autonomy and skills. The transition to Industry 5.0 offers an opportunity to embed social aspects at the core of industrial policies, that will ensure that workers are at the centre of the digital and green transition.

Aurora Rossi is a Policy Adviser for industriAll Europe Trade Union which is a federation of independent and democratic trade unions representing manual and non-manual workers in the metal, chemical, energy, mining, textile, clothing and footwear sectors and related industries and activities. She is primarily responsible for the mechanical engineering, ICT and shipbuilding sectors. She is responsible for Artificial intelligence and Industry 5.0 from an industrial policy point of view. Other responsibilities include European mobility transition projects in the automotive and shipbuilding sectors.

A recording of this webinar can be found on our recordings page.

Businesses are increasingly embracing new technologies to enhance their effectiveness and resilience. These technologies offer the potential to improve business processes and job quality. However, this endeavor presents significant challenges for organizations, as the same technology can lead to both positive and negative outcomes. While designed to innovate and enhance, technology projects can also fail or negatively affect job quality. Ultimately, success depends on how the technology is deployed.

This webinar explores the impact of work organisation, HR management practices, and employee participation on changes in job quality brought about by digital technologies. Drawing from 22 Belgian case studies, key conclusions highlight the role of work organisation in shaping digital transformation outcomes and the necessity of a tailored approach to digital transformation, acknowledging the varied effects across different organisational contexts. Special attention is given to the changing role of line managers amidst digital transformation. Digitalisation not only alters their responsibilities and often increases their workload, but also positions them as key players in shaping job quality outcomes for other employees.

A recording of this webinar can be found on our recordings page.

In this presentation, we will rely on a pragmatic approach to action research as described and developed by, among others, Davydd Greenwood and Morten Levin. Through dialogue and reflection, presentation of new research and theoretical perspectives and testing in the various organisations, the researchers and the participants (problem owners) develop a common learning community with the aim of developing knew practice as well as new theory.

A recording of this webinar can be found on our recordings page.

The EUWIN network has been a loyal follower of the results of the European H2020 Beyond4.0 project. That project ended in March. The project has produced interesting results that support EUWIN’s thinking. One of the particular results is that companies that strengthen their ‘learning capacity’ perform better economically and socially as a result. Both the company and the employee benefit from such a strategy. The project produced even more interesting results. Steven Dhondt, as coordinator of the project, provides an overview of the main results in this webinar and outlines how EUWIN and the Bridges 5.0 project can benefit from them.

Steven Dhondt is fascinated by how workers and companies can find a common ground to improve performance. His research and actions are focused on understanding this topic.

A recording of this webinar can be found on our recordings page.

At a time of ecological, economic and societal transitions, it is more important than ever to place work at the heart of social and professional dialogue. ANACT, the French National Agency for the Improvement of Working Conditions, has been acting for 50 years to improve the quality of working life through a concerted approach to changes in the workplace. Today, the agency continues to help companies and public organisations to cope with professional transitions with innovative methods and tools designed on the basis of pilot projects. In this webinar, we will focus on its gender mainstreaming approach, which enables companies to take into account the different work situations of women and men in order to integrate equality issues into organisational transitions, such as the introduction of hybrid work.

Ségolène JOURNOUD and Karine BABULE are in charge with international projects at Anact, helping companies improve their quality of working life.

A recording of this webinar can be found on our recordings page.

Peter Oeij will present his vision on ‘workplace innovation’ and present the recently published book ‘Workplace innovation: the challenge of disruptive transitions’. Subscribed participants to this webinar will get a 50% discount voucher of the book, published by Edward Elgar publishers in the Elgar Research Agenda series.

Peter Oeij is associated with TNO Innovation for Life – the Netherlands, and motivated to improve the quality of work for all of us. He can be reached at peter.oeij@tno.nl

A recording of this webinar can be found on our recordings page.