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The Effects of Technological Developments on Work and Their Implications for Continuous Vocational Education and Training: A Systematic Review

Technology is changing the way organizations and their employees need to accomplish their work. Empirical evidence on this topic is scarce. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the effects of technological developments on work characteristics and to derive the implications for work dem...

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Autores principales: Beer, Patrick, Mulder, Regina H.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7226038/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32457688
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00918
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author Beer, Patrick
Mulder, Regina H.
author_facet Beer, Patrick
Mulder, Regina H.
author_sort Beer, Patrick
collection PubMed
description Technology is changing the way organizations and their employees need to accomplish their work. Empirical evidence on this topic is scarce. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the effects of technological developments on work characteristics and to derive the implications for work demands and continuous vocational education and training (CVET). The following research questions are answered: What are the effects of new technologies on work characteristics? What are the implications thereof for continuous vocational education and training? Technologies, defined as digital, electrical or mechanical tools that affect the accomplishment of work tasks, are considered in various disciplines, such as sociology or psychology. A theoretical framework based on theories from these disciplines (e.g., upskilling, task-based approach) was developed and statements on the relationships between technology and work characteristics, such as complexity, autonomy, or meaningfulness, were derived. A systematic literature review was conducted by searching databases from the fields of psychology, sociology, economics and educational science. Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria. Empirical evidence was extracted and its implications for work demands and CVET were derived by using a model that illustrates the components of learning environments. Evidence indicates an increase in complexity and mental work, especially while working with automated systems and robots. Manual work is reported to decrease on many occasions. Workload and workflow interruptions increase simultaneously with autonomy, especially with regard to digital communication devices. Role expectations and opportunities for development depend on how the profession and the technology relate to each other, especially when working with automated systems. The implications for the work demands necessary to deal with changes in work characteristics include knowledge about technology, openness toward change and technology, skills for self- and time management and for further professional and career development. Implications for the design of formal learning environments (i.e., the content, method, assessment, and guidance) include that the work demands mentioned must be part of the content of the trainings, the teachers/trainers must be equipped to promote those work demands, and that instruction models used for the learning environments must be flexible in their application.
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spelling pubmed-72260382020-05-25 The Effects of Technological Developments on Work and Their Implications for Continuous Vocational Education and Training: A Systematic Review Beer, Patrick Mulder, Regina H. Front Psychol Psychology Technology is changing the way organizations and their employees need to accomplish their work. Empirical evidence on this topic is scarce. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the effects of technological developments on work characteristics and to derive the implications for work demands and continuous vocational education and training (CVET). The following research questions are answered: What are the effects of new technologies on work characteristics? What are the implications thereof for continuous vocational education and training? Technologies, defined as digital, electrical or mechanical tools that affect the accomplishment of work tasks, are considered in various disciplines, such as sociology or psychology. A theoretical framework based on theories from these disciplines (e.g., upskilling, task-based approach) was developed and statements on the relationships between technology and work characteristics, such as complexity, autonomy, or meaningfulness, were derived. A systematic literature review was conducted by searching databases from the fields of psychology, sociology, economics and educational science. Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria. Empirical evidence was extracted and its implications for work demands and CVET were derived by using a model that illustrates the components of learning environments. Evidence indicates an increase in complexity and mental work, especially while working with automated systems and robots. Manual work is reported to decrease on many occasions. Workload and workflow interruptions increase simultaneously with autonomy, especially with regard to digital communication devices. Role expectations and opportunities for development depend on how the profession and the technology relate to each other, especially when working with automated systems. The implications for the work demands necessary to deal with changes in work characteristics include knowledge about technology, openness toward change and technology, skills for self- and time management and for further professional and career development. Implications for the design of formal learning environments (i.e., the content, method, assessment, and guidance) include that the work demands mentioned must be part of the content of the trainings, the teachers/trainers must be equipped to promote those work demands, and that instruction models used for the learning environments must be flexible in their application. Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-05-08 /pmc/articles/PMC7226038/ /pubmed/32457688 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00918 Text en Copyright © 2020 Beer and Mulder. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
Beer, Patrick
Mulder, Regina H.
The Effects of Technological Developments on Work and Their Implications for Continuous Vocational Education and Training: A Systematic Review
title The Effects of Technological Developments on Work and Their Implications for Continuous Vocational Education and Training: A Systematic Review
title_full The Effects of Technological Developments on Work and Their Implications for Continuous Vocational Education and Training: A Systematic Review
title_fullStr The Effects of Technological Developments on Work and Their Implications for Continuous Vocational Education and Training: A Systematic Review
title_full_unstemmed The Effects of Technological Developments on Work and Their Implications for Continuous Vocational Education and Training: A Systematic Review
title_short The Effects of Technological Developments on Work and Their Implications for Continuous Vocational Education and Training: A Systematic Review
title_sort effects of technological developments on work and their implications for continuous vocational education and training: a systematic review
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7226038/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32457688
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00918
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