Table 5.
Studies providing qualitative evidence for the relationship between technology and work-related aspects.
| Technology | Research objective | Work-related aspects affected by technology | Work characteristics | Study design | N (domain) | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Clinical technology (CT) | Exploration of nurses' perceptions of new technology in relation to their skills, autonomy and experience of work | Increased workload due to higher efficiency and patient flow rates accomplished by CT use | Workload | 1, a, i | N = 125 (Nursing; Australia) | Gough et al., 2014 |
| Increased complexity of interventions due to enhanced treatment potential | Complexity | ||||||
| Enhanced opportunities for clinical knowledge- and skill-acquisition due to clinical information provided by CT in a high dependency environment | Opportunities for development | ||||||
| Information technology (IT) | Reduced content of work (e.g., time with patient care) due to higher reporting requirements by IT-system (resulting in time spent with technology) | Role expectations | |||||
| No feeling of managerial surveillance or control by IT database | Privacy | ||||||
| 10 | Field technology | Exploration if employees' right for data privacy is challenged in the face of electronic governance and control by management | Increased control by management through continuous tracking of behavior and performance and managerial allocation of work (labor management) | Privacy | 1, a, e, i | N = 90 (Installation, cleaning, home care, security, transport; Norway) | Tranvik and Bråten, 2017 |
| Less control over work-related data by employees due to automatic and non-transparent data transmission | Privacy | ||||||
| 11 | Automated terminals | Understanding how work, job roles and associated skills have changed across technological shifts | Facilitation and acceleration of routine and physical work tasks through process automation controlled by computer technologies | Manual work | 4, a, d, ii | Unreported (Port terminal work; Australia) | Gekara and Thanh Nguyen, 2018 |
| Higher diagnosing and navigating tasks within a digitized work environment including mobile and fixed digital devices | Mental work | ||||||
| Decreased content and scope of operational tasks and increase in monitoring tasks due to digital devices | Manual work | ||||||
| 12 | Automated production systems | Exploration of the relationship between the quality of human-machine interaction and work satisfaction, workload and stress | Increased time pressure and need for multitasking due to technical interruptions | Workflow interruptions | 1, a, i | N = 36 (Manufacturing industry; Germany) | Körner et al., 2019 |
| Occasional low situational awareness due to increased system complexity and inadequate information | Complexity | ||||||
| Continuous qualification requirements to deal with complex computer-related problems and expectation of learning-by-doing | Opportunities for development | ||||||
| 13 | Bar-coded medication administration technology | Investigating the impact of automated medication administration technology on nurses' problem-solving behavior | Increased workload due to the technology blocking familiar problem-solving strategies | Workload | 4, a, d, i | N = 17 for observations; N = 45 for interviews (Nursing; United States) | Holden et al., 2013 |
| Increasing occurrence of new problems that require creative problem-solving and “workarounds” by using or bypassing the system | Mental work | ||||||
| 14 | Automated dispensing system | Determining the effects of installing an automated dispensing system on staff experience of work, psychological contract, individual outcomes and future plans | Opportunities for role expansion due to the opportunity to approach new value-adding tasks through automation | Role expectations | 2, c, ii | N = 31 (Pharmaceutical industry; United Kingdom) | James et al., 2013 |
| Increasing physical demands for employees directly working with the system due to monotony and time pressures | Manual work | ||||||
| Reduction of roles for employees that support the system directly (e.g., technicians) | Role expectations | ||||||
| 15 | Cobots | Identifying issues for the African workforce regarding the implementation of cobots | Decreased amount of physically demanding tasks due to physical support by cobots | Manual work | 4, b, i | N = 12 (Automobile manufacturing; Africa) | Calitz et al., 2017 |
| Increase in new and challenging mental tasks that require a certain understanding, acceptance and trust toward cobots | Mental work | ||||||
| 16 | Social media | Explication of the boundary-related rules regarding personal and professional social media use at work | Perceived feeling of peer-monitoring and judgement in case of personal social media use (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) | Privacy | 2, a, i | N = 29 (Technology sector; United States) | Walden, 2016 |
| Perceived pressure to network with peers and clients with professional social media due to acceptance and positive appraisal of work-related use (e.g., LinkedIn) | Role expectations | ||||||
| 17 | Tools for digital communication | Determining the relationship between communication in the digital work environment and wellbeing at work, factors influencing the relationship, and its context | Interruption of workflow and attention due to the constant flow of messages and communication via various communication platforms and devices | Workflow interruptions | 3, e, f, i | N = 36 (Industrial, insurance, finance) | Bordi et al., 2018 |
| Requirement to stay up to date with new tools for digital communication due to changing technology and customer preferences | Opportunities for development | ||||||
| Increased flexibility (time, place, task) due to self-initiated multitasking and use of various tools | Autonomy | ||||||
| 18 | Work-extending technologies | Examining the effects of work-extending technologies on working time, relationships, and strategies employed by employees to deal with technological effects and its impact | Increased efficiency, productivity and flexibility (working from home or while traveling) if work extending technologies can be used | Autonomy | 1, a, c, i | N = 61 (Government department; Canada) | Towers et al., 2006 |
| Higher workload due to perceived expectations for constant availability and longer work days | Workload | ||||||
| 19 | Robots | Exploring therapists' needs regarding robots and functions that make robots perceived as useful | Potential workflow support if robots support repeatable tasks, observe behavior and give objective feedback | Workflow interruptions | 4, b, i | N = 21 (Autism therapy; Poland) | Zubrycki and Granosik, 2016 |
| No creation of opportunities to improve therapist value or for professional self-development by robots | Opportunities for development | ||||||
| 20 | Robot-facilitated pharmacy distribution | Understanding to what extent employers considered job quality in advance to an automated system's introduction and how those considerations impacted various aspects of job quality for employees | More opportunities for upskilling and interdisciplinary learning through job rotation as a consequence of the system's introduction (in general) | Opportunities for development | 2, a, c, i | N = 45 (Health care; United Kingdom) | Findlay et al., 2017 |
| Increase in meaningful job content (less repetitive work, greater task variety, more interaction with colleagues and patients) for ward-based employees whose work is strongly supported by the automated system (i.e., ward-based technicians and support staff) | Role expectations | ||||||
| Higher paced, more repetitive and less skilled work for employees that support the system directly (i.e., dispensary technicians) | Role expectations | ||||||
| Less possibilities for learning and career development due to decreased opportunities for job rotation for some employees (i.e., dispensary technicians) | Opportunities for development | ||||||
| 21 | ICT | Examination of specific stressors and benefits resulting from work-related technology-use in public relations, journalism and advertising | Regular interruptions of workflow due to constant availability via mobile communication | Workflow interruptions | 1, a, i | N = 25 (Advertising, public relations, journalism; Austria, Hong Kong) | Ninaus et al., 2015 |
| Connectivity pressure as a consequence of increased response expectations due to the mobile wireless communication | Role expectations | ||||||
| Inner obligation for availability as a result of being able to perform and compete at any time | Role expectations | ||||||
| Improved workflow and improved communication as a result of instant communication detached from workplace and working time | Workflow interruptions | ||||||
| Instant accessibility of people and knowledge as a result of flexible device-use and integration of various digital platforms and devices | Autonomy | ||||||
| Increased flexibility as a result of mobile technologies allowing to autonomously allocate working time and place | Autonomy |
Concerning methodology: 1, interview study; 2, case study; 3, action research; 4, other qualitative approaches; a, interviews; b, questionnaire; c, focus groups; d, observations; e, internal data (documents, log-data); f, workshop-discussion; i, cross-sectional; ii, longitudinal.