Digital transformation and its projection in the labour environment

The digital transformation that is taking place in labour markets has come hand in hand with technological innovation. We can define, an interactive process as one that generate something new, transformed and valuable in certain environments and systems. These innovations have been introduced like a hurricane, in a violent and unexpected manner, in our economic systems and therefore in the world of labour relations.

New forms of employment related to new technologies and artificial intelligence have emerged, which have great importance in the economic development of countries. The technological changes extend to multiple sectors: agriculture, construction, industry and services, all of them are being transformed. The transformation affects both small- and medium-sized companies, as the implementation of new technologies in large companies affects their suppliers and customers. For the world of work, the multiple changes resulting from the eruption of new technologies have profound consequences, which must be reflected in the regulatory framework. Thus, some will have direct applications, as in the case of the regulation of data protection with respect to workers and new figures in the company and other indirect ones such as the one that refers to the regulation of working time, distance work, professional classification, redefinition of functions by automation, not of specific jobs, but of entire processes.

In addition, protection of the data of natural persons seems to combine poorly with the new techniques of surveillance of workers by employers. Control with technical means in the work place and with work instruments such as computers, telephone, or internet and others is in many cases a detriment of the working conditions of workers and a violation of their right to protection of data. Data used will be provided by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

This therefore reduces the working conditions of a large group of workers who have not been able or have not been offered the possibility of receiving professional training to reintegrate them into this fourth industrial revolution that we are experiencing.

The aim of the work is to analyse the digital transformation in the workplace in the new millennium, with the advances that are taking place every day, under the worrying premise of maintaining employment. The impact on working conditions will also be analyzed.

The methodology used is that of the legal-social sciences, through the analysis of primary and secondary sources. Our analysis will present some qualitative results characterizing the new labour framework.