Disclosing the Effects on the Employees and Future Preventive Measures

 Introduction

Digital Taylorism, a new spectacle in modern work setups, changes governance principles through the suffusion of digital technologies. It is a game changer used to optimize work processes and provides a more efficient means of control that has not been achieved before. Based on observations by Gautié, Jaehrling, and Perez (2020), Fredrick Taylor’s digital Taylorism principles have both negative and positive outcomes, impacting occupational arenas and the social well-being of the occupants. This poster dives deeply into the various specs of Digital Taylorism, exploring its effects on workers, and gives recommendations on managing the negative consequences of this phenomenon.

UNDERSTANDING DIGITAL TAYLORISM

Digital Taylorism is the modernization of Frederick Taylor’s scientific principles used to govern work setups by giving directives and monitoring them online to enhance efficiency in the work environment. Various work processes are keenly reviewed and unified to increase company productivity. Among its characteristics is tracking and controlling workers using digital technology, which surmounts higher micromanagement and supervision of everything workers do. While advocates of the approach state that it helps achieve efficiency and lowers the cost of management, the opponents are concerned about its deteriorative effects on the well-being of workers and its autonomous nature. The venture into Digital Taylorism has created a curiosity about the future of employment opportunities and whether human beings need to participate in work environments or whether everything will be robotic (Holford, 2019), curtailing most people’s employment chances. Despite the two sides of Digital Taylorism, people are encouraged to embrace it as it has evolved into the work spectrum and is being embraced by most organizations and workers as time passes, creating complex workplaces in the modern arena.

IMPACT ON WORKERS:

 NEGATIVE

The fruitfulness of digital Taylorism has negatively impacted employees(Spira, 2011). The main demerits are the automation of work and the workers’ operation. Being constantly under watch makes the employees feel micromanaged and their personal spaces infringed. This makes them inferior and interferes with their mental state, making them doubt their capabilities and producing less output.

In addition to that, the workers’ creativity and innovation abilities are curtailed by the continuous use of monotonous digital technology. The mental health aspect of the workers is at stake as well, as they are closely monitored and expected to have high puts leading to burnout, stress, and general health deterioration. In summary, digital Taylorism is permitted to create an oppressive work environment where workers feel like a liability to the machines controlling them rather than human beings and irreplaceable resources to the firms.

POSITIVE

There is increased efficiency and product outcome as the machines are automated, working continuously and offsetting the errors humans would have created. Having a structured workplace also means less time spent on planning; therefore, the employees have a chance to execute their tasks faster and more efficiently. Additional digital Taylorism makes information available to the personnel as they can easily be accessed(Günsel et al., 2020), making them more informed and in a better place to make well-informed decisions. Being an online platform, employees can easily communicate with one another, enhancing collaboration, which results in a well-knit society in the workplace. In conclusion, as digital Taylorism creates autonomy in the workplace and continuous supervision, it can improve the work setup by providing resources and tools to the employees much needed with increased modernization.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WORKERS:

Employees should embrace ways that enable them to protect their health and uphold their rights from Digital Taylorism, and source means by which they can incorporate it into the labor force. This can be achieved by creating trade unions, advocating for labor rights, and participating in dialogues revolving around the ethics needed while using technology in the workplace(Räthzel et al.,2011).

MITIGATING NEGATIVE EFFECTS:

• Enhance Transparency: This is achieved by communicating to staff the benefits and the purpose of digital technologies in the workplace to address concerns regarding surveillance and monitoring.
• Training: Come up with training programs that can help employees understand and use
• digital tools efficiently. By being trained, people acknowledge the need for their presence for technology tools to be used.
• Advocate for Autonomy: Ensure a balance between using digital technologies and
• opportunities for employees to make decisions and contribute ideas, which creates a sense of
• ownership and control over their work.
• Enhance a balanced Work-Life: Set distinct boundaries on work hours, expectations, and the employee’s social life.
• Ensure recognition: Appreciate and reward your employees for their contributions to the firm by emphasizing the value of work beyond productivity metrics.
• Better together: Use digital tools to enhance collaboration and employee teamwork,
• fostering community and support amongst workers.
• Mental Health Support: Advocate for sessions on how to minimize the impacts of Digital Taylorism on people’s health and provide employees with the required facilities
• when stressed or burnt out, as digital Taylorism impacts their mental health.
• Nourish a Positive Work Environment: Ensure the celebration of a culture that denotes employee well-being and respects individual requirements and choices.

 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLES

Amazon: The company utilizes digital solutions to monitor and manage employees at the warehouse(Delfanti,2021).

Uber: The firm utilizes an algorithm-driven management system that makes the decisions on drivers’ working hours and trip directions (Borowiak,2021); this enhances manipulation, denies them their rights, and gives the drivers limited autonomy and worker control.

Call Centers: Call centers widely use digital technologies to monitor and measure employee performance metrics such as call length and customer satisfaction scores(Adler et al.,2006), creating pressured work environments.

Manufacturing Plants: These plants use an optimized manufacturing process, thus putting pressure on workers to achieve their production targets.

CONCLUSION

Digital Taylorism is a two-sided sword offering positive and negative impacts on the modern workforce. While the outcome seems promising concerning efficiency, the technological tools pose recognizable challenges such as output quality, and independence. By analyzing its impact on firms and the workforce, everyone affected can manage the complexities of Digital Taylorism to create a humane workplace.

References

Adler, S., & Nelson, M. T. (2006). This Call May Be Monitored—customer Service Delivery: Research and Best Practices, 20, 225.

Borowiak, C. (2021). Algorithm Ethics: Interrogating Incentives in the Age of Uber. Perspectives on Political Science, 50(2), 95-105.

Delfanti, A. (2021). Machinic dispossession and augmented despotism: Digital work in an Amazon warehouse. New Media & Society, 23(1), 39-55.

Gautié, J., Jaehrling, K., & Perez, V. (2020). Digital Taylorism: A Global Industrial Hydra? Comparative Sociology, 774-796.

Günsel, A., & Yamen, M. (2020). Digital Taylorism as an answer to the requirements of the new era. In Agile Business Leadership Methods for Industry 4.0 (pp. 103-119). Emerald Publishing Limited.

Holford, W. D. (2019). The future of human creative knowledge work within the digital economy. Futures, 105, 143-154.

Räthzel, N., & Uzzell, D. (2011). Trade unions and climate change: The jobs versus environment dilemma. Global Environmental Change, 21(4), 1215-1223.

Spira, J. B. (2011). Overload! How too much information is hazardous to your organization. John Wiley & Sons.