Work Autonomy, Control and Discretion in Industry 4.0

The present chapter focuses the relationship between Industry 4.0 and the regulation of work processes, in terms of autonomy, control and discretion. Attention is first drawn to two theses emerging from recent empirical research, Digital Taylorism and Electronic Panopticon, both postulating a univocal impact of Industry 4.0 on work and organization. Using selected data from the 1991-2015 European Working Conditions surveys, we show that there seems to be no empirical evidence for the predictions made by both the above theses. We thus argue that an alternative approach is needed to advance our understanding of the relationship between Industry 4.0 and the regulation of work. Namely, an approach that helps us understand how and why, even in highly digitalized and automated work settings, workers may participate in the regulation of work and develop new experience and competences on the job. An approach that considers routine work as ever-changing work, that continuously calls for new competences and forges new experience (Pfeiffer, 2014; 2016; Pfeiffer and Suphan, 2015), and in which autonomy and discretion in the regulation of work are clearly distinguished (Reynaud, 1988; Terssac, 1992; 2003; Maggi, 2003/2016). In conclusion, we discuss some implications for the management of human resources in the context of Industry 4.0 and outline some directions for future research.