The future of work: Charissa Freese on the impact of digitalization in the workplace

In the HR Podcast, Charissa Freese, vice-dean of TIAS and Endowed Professor of HRM and Social Security, discusses various strategic HR issues, including the impact of AI and digitalization on HR. Freese: "When it comes to digitalization, HR needs to carefully consider what it means for people currently performing this work. Can they still engage in interesting work, and if not, how can we reverse this trend?"

The role of HR is rapidly changing due to increasing digitalization and automation. Tasks previously performed by HR, such as evaluations and data analysis, are increasingly being taken over by technology. This raises questions about what the future of HR looks like. Charissa Freese discusses the impact of AI and digitalization on work.

Freese: "Digitalization and automation may pose a threat to the HRM field. Consider, for example, the Uber driver who gives you a review via an app. There's no longer any evaluation from a line manager or HR involved”. 

"Secondly, the data-driven nature is increasing. More and more can be gleaned from data. This raises the question of whether HR is the most data-driven specialist. Data scientists may start taking over tasks from HR, resulting in the hollowing out of the HR function. HR has an important role to play in such issues. Many digitalization applications tend to make work more routine. If that's the case, the work becomes less interesting to perform. However, doing interesting work is crucial for people to stay motivated. HR needs to carefully consider what these strategies may mean for the employees currently performing the work."

Preparing employees for transition

"Another aspect of digitalization is preparing employees for the transition they'll have to undergo when they start collaborating with AI in the future. If you wait until it's too late, there's a chance people won't be able to make that transition because it's happening too fast. HR needs to timely identify these trends and prepare people for the future. It's a complex question because nobody knows what the future will look like. That's why it's important to engage in conversations with people who can accurately assess these technologies to prepare employees as effectively as possible."

"You can involve employees in the development of digitalization by including it in the annual cycle of discussions. This allows you to ask employees each time: how do you plan to develop next year? What does your longer-term career path look like? How will you continue adding value to the organization in the future?"

As an employee, you need to realize that you render yourself redundant if you don't keep up with the development

Developments in robotics versus AI

"We've also conducted research on robotics," says Freese. "The good news is that they're coming, but the development is rather slow. It takes a long time to develop a robot that can take over tasks. Additionally, it's often tailored to a specific type of work. Developments in AI and digitalization, on the other hand, are much faster because they're more easily applicable. Line managers need to be alert to this. Furthermore, as an employee, you need to realize that you render yourself redundant if you don't keep up with the developments. It's important to continue thinking about who you are and how you can add value to a company."