Veranstaltung

ILTSS: Gina Glock: "Algorithmic Decision-Making in Service Work: An Analysis of Changing Job Autonomy"

12.12.2024

12. Dezember 2024, 11:00-12:00 Uhr, online

Das DIFIS Forschungsfeld 2 „Herausforderungen der modernen Arbeitswelt“ lädt herzlich zur Teilnahme an der dritten Veranstaltung der Interdisziplinären Online-Seminarreihe „New World of Work? – Drivers of the Sectoral Economic Transformation & Implications for Social Policies” ein:


Seminar 3: 
Algorithmic Decision-Making in Service Work: An Analysis of Changing Job Autonomy
Dr. Gina Glock | Schaufler LAB@TU Dresden, Technical University of Dresden, Germany

Abstract of the Seminar Session:
The involvement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems in the world of work has increased rapidly in recent years. This transformation of work raises questions about the changing role of humans in work processes, their decision-making authority over work content and conditions, and the corporate and economic interests behind the deployment of AI-based systems. This calls into question nothing less than the extent to which AI increases inequality or enables more qualitative and productive work.
This thesis explores these potential areas of conflict by examining the influence of algorithmic decision-making and support (ADM) systems on the job autonomy of employees in the service sector. In addition to the subjectively perceived effects of using ADM systems for workers, this thesis identifies the organizational conditions for creating positive autonomy experiences and questions which operational strategies lie behind both positive and negative changes in job autonomy. 
Methodically, this thesis applies semi-quantitative and qualitative elements. In addition to quantifying job autonomy based on a representative employee survey, the empirical focus rests on two qualitative company case studies (outpatient care and banking services), which reveal the subjective perspective of employees on the utilization of ADM systems as part of a multi-stage procedure based on 20 problem-centered interviews. The emphasis is placed on service employees who perform a particularly large amount of intensive interaction work, i.e., who are in direct contact with customers, clients, or patients. 
The results show that the intervention of ADM systems in the work processes of care workers and bank advisors has predominantly positive effects on job autonomy. In both cases, improvements in the respective services as well as relieving tendencies are recognizable as a consequence. However, these positive effects are dependent on the non-utilization of excessive control functions and the non-intervention of the ADM systems in direct interaction work. The preservation of experience- and situation-driven (interaction) work is central and outlines a perspectively increasing field of conflict between workers and companies. 
These findings must be evaluated in light of the corporate strategy behind the deployment of ADM. If the company's objectives lie within the scope of process optimization to support workflows, beyond the expansion of control mechanisms for the utilization of labor power, there is less danger for the shaping and structuring of autonomous service work. Further information.

Authors Bio & Affiliation: 
Dr. Gina Glock completed her doctorate in the sociology of work at the Dresden University of Technology in May 2024. Currently, she is employed at the German Federal Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) in Berlin. Her research focuses on the interplay between digitalization, working conditions, and the shaping of good work. She studied Industrial Engineering and Public Economics in Dresden, Venice, and Berlin. Details.

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Das Organisationsteam
Dr. Martin Dietz, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg
Prof. Dr. Martin Brussig, Institut Arbeit und Qualifikation (IAQ), Universität Duisburg-Essen 
Prof. Dr. Werner Eichhorst, Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit (IZA), Universität Bonn
Jenny Hahs, Deutsches Institut für Interdisziplinäre Sozialpolitikforschung (DIFIS), Universität Duisburg-Essen 
Martin Buchner, Deutsches Institut für Interdisziplinäre Sozialpolitikforschung (DIFIS), Universität Duisburg-Essen