An analysis on the effects of disruptive mega-trends on work : a study on Austria

Abstract

The world is changing, and it is changing quicker and quicker. Today it is about digitalization, tomorrow it could be about self-driving cars. Those rapid changes might put some pressure on the relation some category of workers have with work. The aim of this paper is to understand where we are today when referring to innovations. For this reason, the academic question of this study is "What could be the effect of the current mega trends on work in Austria?" The research question is divided into three sub-questions. The first one is about the possibility of facing a potential Technological Revolution. A detailed study of the existing theories from Kondratieff, Schumpeter and the Neo-Schumpeterian school from the eighties, associated with a pool of coming technologies as forecasted by Gartner, is the method used to answer this question. The results are showing an increased probability to face a new Technological Revolution. The second sub-question is about the destructive potential on work those new technologies might have in Austria. A detailed overview of fundamental indicators for Austria, combined with studies about the effect of digitalization on work, and with a home-developed scenario about self driving cars will answer this question. Again, the results are pointing to a turbulent direction. The last sub question was about the resilience of Austria to sustain this potential transformation phase. A set of interviews with professionals from the Austrian scene showed that the resilience is moderately high, with one main topic that needs to be improve: continuous education. With this conclusion, it is recommend to focus on the following problem: How to bring the right training to the persons who need it. Further set of studies how to do this would be welcome.