How are our jobs changing due to new technologies? How will we work together in increasingly diverse teams? What new occupations are emerging, for example in the circular economy? These and other questions are addressed by research on the future of work. It develops visions of a future working world which is centred on people.
Demographic change and diversity in society
Hardly any other societal development will in coming years have as strong an impact on Germany as demographic change. As a result, future workforces will be more diverse in every respect – in particular, they will be older and include more women and people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Health promotion and disease prevention are becoming a greater focus in work design. At the same time, the expectations of the younger generations of employees are changing with regard to a good working environment and work-life balance. The knowledge and experience of older employees as well as the varied perspectives of diverse teams are important sources of innovation which companies must put to good use by introducing demography-sensitive working conditions in order to remain competitive on the market.
AI and the digitalization of the working world
Digital technologies and artificial intelligence tools are increasingly becoming part of our daily lives. It will in future be possible to use AI-based systems not only for pattern recognition and data analysis but also to generally support our working world in the context of interconnected value creation. New technologies have the potential to make work processes more efficient and to contribute to easing the burden for working people. The aim is to design these developments proactively with a focus on human-centred work and sustainable business. This is the only way that the digital transformation of the working world can develop its full potential for economic success.
New forms of work organization
Collaborative leadership, agile methods and work in hybrid settings – it is not just since the COVID-19 pandemic and the related trend to work from home that the way we work together and organize our cooperation has been changing. New work approaches provide employees with greater autonomy in their job and enable creative and innovative problem solutions. Teams that are located around the globe can jointly develop innovations thanks to modern means of communication. New leadership cultures and new forms of corporate organization are needed for companies to benefit from the opportunities which these new forms of work have to offer.
Research on the future of work
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports research on the future of work which pursues a holistic approach in studying work design that integrates people, organization and technology. This is, for example, done in the thirteen regional competence centres for labour research.
A further focus of the BMBF is on transfer. Pilot factories and living labs provide space for experiencing what work will be like in future. Digital platforms enable companies to identify their needs and potential more easily and support employees in developing their skills. Furthermore, companies implement the research results in pilot projects.
How does the BMBF support research on the future of work with a focus on ...
... artificial intelligence?
Regional competence centres for labour research – first round of the competition
As part of the Regional competence centres for labour research measure, the BMBF is funding projects which focus on the strengths of their respective regions and become established as central contact points in science. Their research addresses the challenges of the regional working worlds, and they support transfer of the results to corporate practice and society at large. The first round of the competition focused on how to organize the use of artificial intelligence (AI) methods and tools in the working world.
An overview of the projects of this funding measure can be found here; further information can be obtained from the accompanying projects CoCo and WIN:A.
... circular economy?
Regional competence centres for labour research – second round of the competition
As part of the Regional competence centres for labour research measure, the BMBF is funding projects which focus on the strengths of their respective regions and become established as central contact points in science. Their research targets the challenges of the regional working worlds, and they support transfer of the results to corporate practice and society at large. A focus of the second round of the competition was on building skills to enable the transformation to a circular economy, which is mainly addressed by the KARE, KOMATRA and KREIS projects.
An overview of the projects of this funding measure can be found here; further information can be obtained from the accompanying projects CoCo and WIN:A.
... structural change/ regional transformation?
REGION.innovativ
Regional competence centres for labour research (coal-mining regions)
In the first funding round of the REGION.innovativ experimental measure, the BMBF supports projects in depressed regions which develop and implement new tools and models for work design and organization, particularly in and with small and medium-sized enterprises. The research collaborations are expected to develop approaches to solving the special challenges posed by digital transformation, demographic change and declining traditional industries and to include in their own region’s policy major global issues such as those formulated in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
An overview of the projects of this funding measure can be found here; further information is available on the website of the set of programmes concerning innovation and structural change.
Furthermore, a special focus of the Regional competence centres for labour research funding measure is on the development of regions that are particularly strongly affected by structural change. Four of the competence centres of the first round of the competition (AKzentE4.0, WIRKsam, K-M-I and PAL) are located in former coal-mining areas and develop solutions to lastingly support the transformation of value creation in the regions concerned.
An overview of the projects of this funding measure can be found here; further information can be obtained from the accompanying project WIN:A.
... health/ disease prevention?
Health across the life span / health at work
Regional competence centres for labour research – second round of the competition
In the Health at work field of action of the Health across the life span funding initiative, the BMBF supports research collaborations as a substantial contribution to ensuring a healthy working environment. Measures are to be developed and tested which reduce mental strain at work and improve individual coping mechanisms. The measures should take account of the challenges of the digitalization of the world of work as well as develop and test corporate health management strategies in small and medium-sized enterprises.
An overview of the projects of this funding measure can be found here; further information is available on the websites of relevant projects.
A further focus in the second round of the Regional competence centres for labour research competition is on the topic of health. Two of the competence centres (KompIGA and RessourcE) are addressing health, developing practical solutions for healthy working in care and logistics.
An overview of the projects of this funding measure can be found here; further information can be obtained from the accompanying projects CoCo and WIN:A.
... international cooperation/networking?
Organization of work in European collaboration networks
The BMBF’s Organization of work in European collaboration networks (EuKoNet) measure supports projects which take a closer look at the challenges of a dynamic working world by studying relevant practical cases in European collaboration networks. This will provide a basis for developing solutions for the participating network partners as well as for employees. Major objectives also include the transfer of results and prospects for utilization beyond individual applications.
An overview of the projects of this funding measure can be found here; further information can be obtained elsewhere.
... small and medium-sized enterprises?
Innovative working worlds in SMEs
REGION.innovativ
The BMBF’s Innovative working worlds in SMEs measure aims to support research and development projects to provide for future-proof working worlds in small and medium-sized enterprises. In this process, technological and organizational innovations are to contribute to a new quality of cooperation, skills development of staff and the emergence of future-proof value creation systems. The focus of the projects is on improving cooperation and work for people by means of innovative and novel digital tools that are adapted to the typical needs of SMEs.
An overview of the projects of this funding measure can be found here; further information is available on the websites of relevant projects.
Small and medium-sized enterprises are also the focus of the first funding round of the BMBF’s REGION.innovativ experimental measure, which supports projects in depressed regions that develop and implement new tools and models for work design and organization. The research collaborations are expected to develop approaches to solving the special challenges posed by digital transformation, demographic change and declining traditional industries and to include in their own region’s policy major global issues such as those formulated in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
An overview of the projects of the funding measure can be found here; further information is available on the website of the set of programmes concerning innovation and structural change.
Editorial deadline for this text: 01.11.2024