The Digital Workplace

The workplace has rarely been the focus of Prototype Fund projects. However, in order to enable social participation and to protect the rights and well-being of employees, it is also important in this area that software is geared towards the common good.

Trend research findings

We analysed how new technologies are shaping wage labour in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic in 2021. The risks for employees, whose rights and autonomy may be restricted, stood out in particular. The following developments contribute to this:

  • Due to systematic distortions in the underlying data sets, (partially) automated recruitment processes can result in certain groups of people having poorer chances of being hired, regardless of their qualifications.
  • The automated recording of working hours, for example, can in principle help to comply with labour law and contractual provisions. However, the measurement of individual work performance tends to lead to work intensification and constant monitoring, which in some cases does not comply with the applicable labour and data protection laws.
  • In addition to the flexibility that is often perceived as positive, networked working can also lead to the dissolution of work boundaries and the loss of regular working hours due to constant availability.
  • If the allocation of unemployment benefits is (partially) automated, faulty verification or identification systems, for example, can have serious consequences for people entitled to benefits.

You can find the full report (in German) here.

Projects on the topic of software in the workplace

Support in planning working times and shifts

Software that can be used for digital collaboration in both voluntary and contract work

Inclusion in the workplace