Abstract:
Digitalisation of manufacturing through Industry 4.0 has been predicted to radically transform the way work is organised and experienced. As critical as this issue is, most research on the new manufacturing paradigm has been focused on the further development of the enabling technologies of Industry 4.0, rather than on how its implementation would affect the nature of work in manufacturing companies. To redress the imbalance, this study adopted an exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory approach to systematically investigate the likely impact of Industry 4.0 on the organisation of work and the use of skills. The research drew on key themes from two theories of work organisation – sociotechnical systems and action regulation – and the Industry 4.0 literature to form postulations regarding work in manufacturing digitalisation environments. Using an employer survey of manufacturing companies in New Zealand and an international survey of manufacturing employees, the study explored the practical realities of Industry 4.0 adoption to reveal details about the choice of advanced technologies, the degree of plant digitalisation, challenges encountered, changing skills needs, skills shortages, and workforce management strategies. Furthermore, the research examined the complex interaction between and among work characteristics and Industry 4.0. by testing a series of parallel mediator models. It found positive relationships between Industry 4.0 use and employee decision-making autonomy and skill utilisation, respectively. It also found that employee involvement in decision-making acted as a mediator in the relationship between the use of Industry 4.0 and job satisfaction, while employee skill use operated twice as a mediator – between the use of Industry 4.0 and job satisfaction, and between the use of Industry 4.0 and employee psychological health. In addition, the results of a multiple regression showed that three variables – revenue of production plant, age of production plant, and number of full-time employees at production plant – are significant predictors of Industry 4.0 implementation. The study found no evidence to suggest that the adoption of Industry 4.0 engendered a Tayloristic occurrence of work intensity. Rather, viewed from the perspective of sociotechnical systems and action regulation theories, the direct positive effects of the new manufacturing paradigm on work characteristics imply that it is capable of humanising work.