Rebooting Work: Changes in a Digital Era

Course goals

After completing this course, students are able to:

• understand how processes of digitalisation are impacted and shape work practices and in-/equality in organisations and society;
• analyse the social and political implications of (imaginary) digital arrangements of work, using theories from (critical) organization studies;
• evaluate cinematic, speculative expressions of digital transformation of work;
• reflect on how experiences of digital arrangements of work are shaped by their own frame of reference and learn to reflect on different perspectives.

Content

“Why do I have all these thoughts if the job I’m doing is mainly technical? Why do I have these thoughts if the reason I’m here is primarily to increase production? From what perspective are these thoughts productive? Was there an error in the update? If there was, I’d like to be rebooted.”
― Olga Ravn, The Employees: A workplace novel of the 22nd century

In our current so-called “Digital Era”, digital technology seems to become more pervasive within organisations and industries, changing how we carry out work, connect, communicate, and are being controlled. Digital technology is often presented as a strategic solution for making workplaces more smart, “seamless”, and altogether more productive. At the same time, we have seen how the use of machine-learning algorithms can reinforce racial discrimination in hiring and monitoring practices, how online platforms can threaten the quality of working conditions, and how digital connectivity makes it increasingly more difficult to define work limits.
 
Building on insights from (critical) organisation studies, the aim of this course is to gain a theoretically-informed understanding of how digitalisation impacts (the quality of) work, as well as how digitalisation processes are shaped by work organisation and associated inequalities.
First, in this course we discuss work and productivity in the context of digitalisation and capitalism. Second, together with several (guest) lecturers, we will zoom in on a particular work practice (e.g. hiring, monitoring, communication) undergoing a digital transformation (e.g. with the use of machine-learning algorithms, robotics, wearable technology). Third, using the insights from the course literature and lectures, we will watch and analyse cinematic expressions of these digital transformations of work.
We turn to cinematic, speculative expressions as this not only helps us to rationally understand, but also to affectively grasp the social and political implications of digital work arrangements. In addition, speculative fiction allows for hope by to imagining how work could be organised differently. 

The testing of this course consists of three parts. First, in groups you will introduce and outline a selected fiction film related to the theme of that week. In addition, you will guide a class discussion in which you discuss the film and apply the insights of the course literature and lecture. Second, you will write a narrative essay consisting of several organisational tales related to a personal workplace, as well as an analysis of each tale using key concepts from the course literature and lectures. Finally, in groups you will be interviewed to defend and further explain the organisational tales and analyses, as well as critically engage with the narrative essays of fellow students. 
Active participation is also part of the testing of this course.

NB: As the film viewing and discussions are a crucial part of this course, attendance is mandatory.

This course combines well with the elective course “Work in the 21st century” (USG4161) in period 2.

Note for exchange students
Resits may be scheduled after the end of the teaching period. Please consider this when planning your departure from the Netherlands.
If in doubt, please ask the course coordinator when the resit is scheduled.