António Moniz

Emerging technologies (ET) in the context of Industry 4.0, such as Robotics, Cyber Physical Systems, etc. will provide tremendous shifts with regard to working processes, e.g. increasing human-robot-interactions and similar technological advancements. However, in the debate about the possibilities of ET, their technical norms and standards, one of the most central aspects– the effects on employees, organizations, and work structures – has been often neglected. We still lack knowledge about the deeper implications of the ET: How ET will change work design in organizations? How does ET affect employees and their attitudinal and behavioral outcomes? How individual employees at different life and/or career stage may better adapt to the changes at work? How Human Resource Management may neutralize potential negative effects and demands of ET and ensure long-term employee well-being? These questions are highly relevant as the Industry 4.0 developments will have implications on millions of employees around the world and we still do not know how these implications will look like.
The objective of our research is to explore the effects of emerging technologies on work design, to identify individual factors related to adaptability to changes at work and to disclose the role of Human Resource Management in this relationship.