Digital Working Conditions in Retail Intralogistics

Digital Working Conditions in Retail Intralogistics

The fact that technical innovation creates or eliminates work, but above all shapes it, has been widely discussed ever since “Industry 4.0” became part of the German federal government’s high-tech strategy. The research project “Digital Working Conditions in Retail Intralogistics” (DiALog), which was launched in the Department of Business on 1 November 2016, examines how software programs and the “Internet of Things” are used by those who inspect incoming goods, pick orders, and dispatch deliveries in warehouses.

The starting point of DiALog is that, from the employees’ perspective, there are both opportunities and risks associated with the digitalization of logistics processes. On the one hand, there are opportunities in that employees can be relieved of physical work. On the other hand, there are risks, not least that jobs may be lost—and that work for the remaining employees may be intensified.

To capture working conditions in logistics companies, Eva-Maria Walker’s team combines quantitative and qualitative analyses. On the one hand, working conditions in the participating companies are quantitatively recorded using the ergonomics instrument “DGB Index Gute Arbeit.” On the other hand, group discussions and individual interviews are used to qualitatively analyze how work is organized in the participating companies.

DiALog is headed by Prof. Dr. Eva-Maria Walker and carried out with the collaboration of Dr. Ulf Ortmann. The project is funded by the Research Institute for Social Development of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.