Labor market in a digital economy 2103-ORP-M-D1RPGC

Getting to know the prospects for the development of companies and society that are entering the new reality of Economy 4.0 will allow us to define the problems that will accompany technological progress, especially in the labor market. This will involve a reallocation of employment, which entails job instability and the transfer of a significant number of employees to an area not subject to formal protection. There will be a significant reduction in the demand for labor in automated industries, which may lead to technological unemployment. A strong tendency to replace labour with capital may lead to wage polarisation and imbalances in the distribution of profits, resulting to a large extent from differences in education and qualifications, but also related to the industry or the length of unemployment. Therefore, it is important to build trust in technological changes, which on the one hand can be a driving force for productivity growth (growing labour productivity causes a decrease in the cost of labour in the total cost of producing a good or service) and competitiveness of enterprises, but on the other hand can have a negative impact on employment stability and working conditions, which can be perceived as a threat, Not an opportunity. New technologies can cause employees to be pushed out of the labour market, but they can also help to improve qualifications, acquire new skills or find a job (special platforms that match job seekers with job offers).

The labour market of the future may offer better working conditions, a shortened working week, but it will also require an active adjustment of skills to needs or even a change of profession. Therefore, it is important to adapt labour law and labour market law to the new challenges of digital work, but also to take action by the state in the field of social protection and income redistribution (e.g. increasing funds for upskilling or reskilling, introducing individualised forms of insurance in the event of unemployment or temporary unemployment, financing outplacement programmes on a larger scale, and finally developing a concept for supporting transformation processes Technological. Who will be the employee of the future and in what environment will he or she function is one of the many questions that arise in the context of the analysis of the future of the labor market.

The adaptive changes in this market generated by technological changes will be a challenge not only for employees or entrepreneurs, but also for governments and society as a whole. However, it is difficult to outline the final result of the digitization process taking place in Poland, because the digital model of company development is not yet formed. This is the best, or perhaps the last moment to plan this process, in the context of various forms of institutional support for both companies and their employees in adapting to the changes that, in the author's opinion, supported by an analysis of the real processes and the results of scientific research, are inevitable. However, in order for the introduced institutional solutions to bring the expected results, they must be based on a reliable diagnosis and social partnership in programming the necessary changes.

Type of course

obligatory courses

Mode

Classroom

Prerequisites (description)

Digitization in the economy is a long-term process that requires significant financial outlays, but for some companies/organizations, especially banks, the digital market has become the main domain of activity. Since the mid-2000s, the term "digital economy" has been used to refer to new knowledge in the field of economic sciences. In this economy, with the use of digital technologies, activities are carried out simultaneously in the traditional real world and in the virtual world emerging as part of the fourth digital revolution. The growing importance of the hybrid economy is accompanied by an increase in the demand for highly qualified specialists with professional knowledge and skills in the field of IT or management in the digital economy. This is particularly important because processes in the virtual world are increasingly complementing or replacing processes in the real world. The consequences of the digitization process for the transformation of the labor market and building the competences of the future, the impact of the implementation of digital technology on the processes of production, exchange and consumption require ongoing monitoring not only at the level of the company, but also at the level of the entire economy and society. All the more so because in response to the current changes in the external environment in which economic entities operate, new forms of economy are being created: the network economy, the experience economy, wikinomy. Progressive digitization also means a change in models and paradigms of work provision and modification of organizational charts of companies and corporations. One of the latest examples of the implementation of the digital economy is the introduction of a system of division into synchronous and asynchronous work. Asynchronous work is a special system of performing professional duties, which has the opportunity to prove itself in modern, innovative enterprises. Work in this system allows flexible working hours and a flexible mode of performing duties, it is characterized by the task-based mode and nature of work performance. Its undoubted advantages include the lack of the need to work in fixed, rigid, predefined hours; greater opportunities for the employee to manage their time independently, increased work efficiency (goal-oriented work), no commuting to work and no need to stay in the office. The place where the employee performed his work and was required to perform specific tasks in the asynchronous work model should be turned into a space for creative meetings and cooperation in smaller teams that are characterized by greater efficiency.

Course coordinators

Jacek Męcina

Learning outcomes

The student understands legal dilemmas, ethical, ethical-legal and cultural principles and norms, especially in economic and social relations, the source of which are changes related to technological transformation.

Assessment criteria

Project work
Exam in the form of a presentation of the effects of the project and general knowledge acquired during the lecture, possibly written work

Practical placement

Bibliography

Świat (bez) pracy. Od fordyzmu do czwartej rewolucji przemysłowej, red. J. Czarzasty, Cz. Kliszko, Oficyna Wydawnicza SGH, Warszawa 2018
Castells M., Społeczeństwo sieci. Nowa przedmowa 2010, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2010
Gersdorf M., Prawo zatrudnienia, Wyd. Nauk. PWN, Warszawa 2013
Grewiński M., Cyfryzacja i innowacje społeczne – perspektywy i zagrożenia dla społeczeństwa, „Kwartalnik Nauk o Przedsiębiorstwie” 2018, nr 1
Męcina J. Wyzwania transformacji technologicznej z perspektywy rynku pracy, SCHOLAR, Warszawa 2023

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 2103-ORP-M-D1RPGC in USOSweb