• Describe and explain in detail the different elements of digital work, as discussed during the course
• Based on a given case, identify, critically evaluate, and convincingly argue for the best combination of elements (technology, workforce, new ways of working, leadership) to design and develop a specific type of digital work arrangement
• Reflect on the opportunities and threats that the proposed type of digital work arrangement may create and consider corresponding policy implications
• Reflect and evaluate whether (and how) the proposed digital work arrangement enables broader digital business transformation (e.g., innovation, competitiveness)

This course is meant for students interested in understanding, designing, and managing digital work – with new forms of collaboration, engagement, and innovation to satisfy a digitally savvy workforce, thereby accelerating productivity and agility, as well as facilitating the broader digital transformation of business. The course will largely focus on information workers (‘white-collar’, creative and service jobs), but in the context of broader shifts in labour. Within the emphasis on information workers, we explore four inter-related elements of digital work: (1) Technologies of the digital work; (2) The digital workforce; (3) New ways of working and leadership; and (4) Work(place) transformation as an enabler of digital business. The technological environment that enables information sharing, collaboration, and communication is at the heart of digital work. The workforce is the second critical element of digital work. We will look at what makes the digitally savvy workforce tick and how the workforce of the future is changing with automation and algorithms. The third element of digital work is the various novel work practices. We will look at new ways of working and leadership that boost work-life flexibility, worker agility, and engagement. The fourth, and final, element we touch upon in this course relates to digital work as an enabler of broader, strategic digital transformations (e.g., in business models). Without internal agility, and an engaged workforce, externally-oriented digital transformations will be difficult to achieve. Throughout the course, we will also critically reflect on the observed trends in digital work and consider policy implications to mitigate potential negative consequences. For example, we will reflect on how digital work can be designed to best serve the basic human needs for autonomy, competence and belonging that ensure decent work as defined by the United Nations. We will also reflect on different options to protect new types of digital workers, such as crowdworkers, as well as the increasing need for organizational policy around privacy protection and workplace surveillance (in the guise of big data and analytics). 

The literature can be changed before the semester starts. Students are advised to find the final literature on Canvas before they buy the books.

Various academic peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on the topic of digital work. For example:

Fuchs, C. (2014). Theorising and analysing digital labour: From global value chains to modes of production. The Political Economy of Communication, 1(2).

Hoeven, C. L., & Zoonen, W. (2015). Flexible work designs and employee well‐being: examining the effects of resources and demands. New Technology, Work and Employment, 30(3), 237-255.

Chamorro-Premuzic, T., Winsborough, D., Sherman, R. A., & Hogan, R. (2016). New Talent Signals: Shiny New Objects or a Brave New World?. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 9(3), 621-640.

Dery, K., Sebastian, I. M., & van der Meulen, N. (2017). The Digital Workplace is Key to Digital Innovation. MIS Quarterly Executive, 16(2).

Christopherson, S. (2004). The divergent worlds of new media: how policy shapes work in the creative economy. Review of policy research, 21(4), 543-558.

Please note that the specific articles are subject to change.