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Digital home office: Employees would have to be involved in the processes
Photo: Uwe Anspach / dpa
The corona crisis accelerated digitization, but according to a survey by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), 40 percent of employees in Germany feel burdened in their working environment.
Almost half of those surveyed (46 percent) stated in the representative survey "Index Gute Arbeit 2022" that the demands in everyday work had increased due to multitasking - i.e. the simultaneous execution of several processes.
More than a third (33 percent) feel more monitored at work.
On the other hand, just under a quarter (23 percent) expressed a positive view and stated that digital work equipment had increased the scope for decision-making in their own work.
Compression of work increases
For its report, the DGB surveyed 6,689 randomly selected employees from all sectors, professions, income and age groups, regions and company sizes nationwide this year.
The DGB intends to present the results of the survey during the course of the day.
The results are "an alarm signal," said DGB chairwoman Yasmin Fahimi.
"The potential of digitization is not being used enough." The digitization of processes must make things easier for employees and not burden them, said Fahimi.
It is therefore important that employers involve their employees in the processes.
Fahimi explained that where there is a works council, employees are much less likely to be monitored using digital technology.
According to a DGB survey, 83 percent of employees use digital work equipment in their jobs - digital communication is the most common (79 percent).
A fifth (21 percent) work with artificial intelligence.
Fahimi said that the "real surge in digitization" as a result of the corona pandemic was associated with the proliferation of mobile work.
But this has also led to more work intensification, said the trade unionist.
For example, 26 percent of those surveyed stated that they had been confronted with several non-stop video conferences since the pandemic-related home office.
In the representative survey "DGB Index Gute Arbeit" (Good Work Index), employees have been interviewed by telephone once a year since 2007 about the quality of their working conditions.
The 2022 survey took place from January to June.
apr/dpa