German Informatics Society organises panel discussion on the digitalisation of the working world
Remote work, digital events, virtual lectures – since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, a major part of everyday life takes place online. At a panel discussion on “Mobile Working” organised by the German Informatics Society via the alfaview® video conferencing system, business and science experts discussed the chances and challenges of this development. Three business representatives, who develop technologies for the new working world, a scientist from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), whose research focus lies on the implications of technical innovations on existing working patterns, and a psychologist, specialising in stress prevention and the effects of digitalisation and technology on employees, debated on new technologies and tools as well as social and psychological aspects, which have to be considered concerning future developments of the society.
Digitalisation can overcome physical distances
Niko Fostiropoulos, founder and CEO of alfatraining Bildungszentrum GmbH, which has been using its own alfaview® video conferencing system for internal and external communication purposes for more than ten years, is favourable towards digitalisation tendencies. However, he emphasised that “we have to co-create the digital future.” The panellists agreed at this point: In order to benefit from digitalisation, suitable instruments have to be developed and properly applied. Tools like alfaview® offer added value by allowing new ways of working. Thus, employees get the chance to flexibly choose their place of work. Due to the enhanced global interlinking, businesses may benefit, too, as their search for skilled employees is no longer limited to their domestic area: “Digitalisation can overcome physical distances”, as Fostiropoulos puts it.
Hybrid working models are the future
Experts believe that the future lies in hybrid working models, which allow alternating work from home as well as on site at the business. Thus, reconciling private and working life becomes easier for different life plans and stages. To turn this vision into a new normality, businesses not only have to accept the current challenges and possibilities of digitalisation but actively have to participate in them.