Digital Transformations in the Challenge of Activity and Work

1Emerging Technologies and Issues for Activity and Occupational Health

The question of the introduction of emerging technologies and their constant renewal in organizations fundamentally refers to the place and role that these devices play in business, as well as how they can affect activity and health at work. Considered as a prospective reflection attempting to grasp the logic and modalities of the digital transformations underway, the ambition of this chapter is: (1) first, to identify and characterize the emerging technologies that are being deployed in the company; (2) to discuss their impact on the activity and well-being of employees, demonstrating the uses and paradoxical effects that these devices may have on work; and (3) finally, to reflect on the psychosocial function of these devices as potential operators of health and development of the profession.

1.1. Introduction

For several years now, we have been witnessing a major reconfiguration of the conditions in which work is carried out, in their nature (intensification, dematerialization, acceleration), in their modalities (remote working, nomadism, fragmentation, virtual teams) and in their reference points (fragmentation and dispersion of activity, multi-activity), due to the deployment of innovative technical solutions which are multiplying. The impact on the human factor is not neutral. The implementation of these emerging devices can, at best, provoke simple transfers of use and learning; they are iterative ...