New Work, Work 4.0 or Future of Work are different expressions for the change in the world of work. Digitisation with the accompanying globalisation raises many questions about how we want to, can or must work in the future. Remote work (working remotely with strangers), home office (tele- or home office), crowdworking (digital day labourers) or workation (merging of work and holidays) are currently establishing themselves alongside traditional work models. In addition, there are agile working methods such as Scrum (English for "crowd"), which reduces the complexity of tasks and focuses on trust and flexibility in the interpersonal sphere.
New Work - Philosophy of Frithjof Bergmann
During the debate on socialism and capitalism in the 1970s, the American professor of philosophy Frithjof Bergmann developed ideas and practical centres for "New Work". The term originally meant the liberation of the human being from wage labour, perceived as bondage, to independence, freedom and community experience. For Bergmann, New Work consists in equal parts of gainful employment, "smart consumption", machine-supported self-sufficiency "high-tech self-providing" and work for pleasure and for self-realisation. Frithjof Bergmann's concepts are solutions for progressive automation with decreasing gainful employment through the self-production of goods that are really useful and more interpersonal exchange for more happiness in life and self-knowledge.
The brave new world of work
The brave new working world has no equivalent in Germany at the moment to the vision of philosophy professor Frithjof Bergmann. At the moment, the term probably refers more to the breaking up of old structures with classical gainful employment and the relocation to the home office or any other place in the world, actually a different topic. Working from home is a question of mentality, some are satisfied and like to work from home, others miss colleagues and supporting structures. The employees who are now working in the home office still know each other. The question remains open as to how the corporate culture will develop and change when new work colleagues arrive whom one has not met in person. How can working in teams be successful and how will companies live their values? Not every workplace is suitable for Work 4.0; the breakfast rolls do not come from a PC, but are handmade, baked and sold in a completely analogue way. Some areas are questionable, such as replacing a visit to the doctor with online communication with the teledoctor.
Open questions of work 4.0
One of the big questions about the future of work is cooperation, which has so far been characterised by a lively culture of discussion, both in the office and in the canteen. In the meantime, there are new tools that enable us to communicate with others without regard to time and space. But we lack experience and agreements on how we want to deal with each other and with these tools. The advantages of Work 4.0 are more family friendliness through leeway in the day's activities, relief from the need to travel to work and the associated protection of the climate and environment, as well as saving on work clothing. On the employers' side, the costs of equipping workplaces and company parking spaces are saved. Disadvantages are the constant accessibility, always-on mentality (always ready with a tendency to self-exploitation) and work-life blending, the mixing of professional and private life, floating boundaries between work and leisure. These issues affect management as much as they do all other employees in the company. In the case of self-employed and digital day labourers, open questions also remain about pension insurance, provision in case of illness, loss of earnings and the possibility of going on holiday. Crowdworkers and teleworkers are evaluated, ranked and screened exclusively on a technical basis. Memories of the novel "1984" by George Orwell are brought back...
Working in the home office or on the road
In the home office or when working on the move, anatomical conditions should be taken into account and taken into account by good ergonomic office furniture. Working on the computer from the hammock, on the stairs or on the bistro table are images from the advertising industry that do not stand up to reality or have long-term consequences. In the case of absences due to illness, the back is at the top of the list. Anyone who works from home is well advised to invest in a high-quality office chair and an adapted desk. Office furniture should adapt to the human body, not vice versa. People vary in size, which is why there are practical solutions, such as ergonomic office chairs, height-adjustable tables and mobile stools such as the Wilkhahn Stitz and the Wilkhahn Stand-up for moving sitting in the pro office Shop.
Maintaining posture
Working positions are defined as postures that the person adopts during work; changing work movements or working positions that require different muscles are ideal - not sitting straight but remaining mobile. Constant muscle tension reduces the blood circulation while leaden fatigue and even depression develops. The office chair should also allow dynamic movements when sitting and take into account the natural curvature of the back. In the pro office shop there are also office chairs with lumbar support, which serves to stabilise the lower back. Armrests provide relaxation for the shoulders and neck. Electric office desks allow work to be done standing up at the touch of a button, making it easy to switch between sitting and standing occasionally.
Work 4.0
As our society becomes increasingly digitalised, new job profiles will emerge and others will be superfluous - creating uncertainty. Lifelong learning is one way of countering this uncertainty. High-quality office furniture is one way to take good care of body and soul. There is also a life beside work: maintaining good contacts and gentle fitness help to face challenges in a positive way.
