Digitalization of Work

3Leadership and the Use of Technology: Health Implications

3.1. Introduction

New technologies have introduced new forms of interaction and communication between individuals, transformed the functionality of spaces and the relationship to time, created new professions (and led to the disappearance of others), supported new forms of work and fueled the demand for new skills (Schwab 2016; Ghislieri et al. 2018; Vayre 2019). Exchanges on WhatsApp, phone or video calls, email exchanges, sharing or commenting on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, and announcements on LinkedIn are now daily means of social interaction and make us “constantly active” users (McDowell and Kinman 2017), both as recipients and producers of information.

These technological changes “determine a series of new behaviors that gradually lead to new skills, beliefs and dispositions” (Schein 2017, p. 231). They particularly affect organizational culture, managerial policies and leadership practices.

In this context, this chapter will first reflect on the interdependence between organizational culture and leadership. With this in mind, the contribution of Edgar Schein and some models of organizational culture, which are associated with current themes in this field, will be discussed. The second part of the chapter will be devoted to the presentation of leadership models. Transformational and authentic leadership will be discussed, as well as destructive behavior. The differentiated effects of these will also be discussed. ...