The impact of Industry 4.0 on work: A synthesis of the literature and reflection about the future

Abstract

Industry 4.0 is a result of technological evolution and is intended to promote technological transformations in industry at different levels. The impact in human employment has been perceived as a major threat and is a matter of concern. Some authors argue that automation will bring unimaginable changes as soon as computers get more intelligence and as machines become able to perform complex tasks more efficiently than humans. However, technological progress is also pointed out as a stimulus for human-beings to develop the competencies that differentiate them from the machines. In this context, this study aims to explore the impacts of adopting Industry 4.0 technologies on work. The results of a comprehensive literature review provide an integrated perspective to identify and understand such impacts, analysing them in four categories: evolution of employment and creation of new jobs, human-machine interaction, new competencies creation/ development, and, organizational and professional changes. © 2020 IEEE.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Skills Competencies work Industry 4.0 Labour market Digitalization job

Index Keywords

Engineering research Industry 4.0 Technological evolution Literature reviews Technological progress Human being Human machine interaction Complex task Professional changes

Author Affiliations

Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science, Porto, Porto, Portugal

Universidade do Porto, Porto, Porto, Portugal

Funding & Acknowledgements

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, FCT

Grant: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016418

ACKNOWLEDGMENT This work was financed by the ERDF – European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation - COMPETE 2020 Programme, by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia within project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016418, and by the Portuguese funding agency, FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, through national funds, and co-funded by the FEDER, where applicable.

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, FCT

ACKNOWLEDGMENT This work was financed by the ERDF – European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation - COMPETE 2020 Programme, by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia within project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016418, and by the Portuguese funding agency, FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, through national funds, and co-funded by the FEDER, where applicable.

European Regional Development Fund, ERDF

ACKNOWLEDGMENT This work was financed by the ERDF – European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation - COMPETE 2020 Programme, by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia within project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016418, and by the Portuguese funding agency, FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, through national funds, and co-funded by the FEDER, where applicable.

Programa Operacional Temático Factores de Competitividade, POFC

ACKNOWLEDGMENT This work was financed by the ERDF – European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation - COMPETE 2020 Programme, by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia within project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016418, and by the Portuguese funding agency, FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, through national funds, and co-funded by the FEDER, where applicable.

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The impact of Industry 4.0 on work: A synthesis of the literature and reflection about the future

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