Chancen und Risiken der Digitalisierung in den beruflichen Tätigkeitsfeldern Pflegen, Betreuen und Heilen
Anita Tisch, Sophie-Charlotte Meyer
Abstract
Digitisation is increasingly finding its way into the world of work. Although it is unlikely that human work will be replaced by computers and machines in the near future, it can be assumed that human work will change. These changes are less expected at the sectoral and occupational level and more at the activity level. This article first discusses which requirements are, in general, gaining importance as digitalisation progresses. It is thereby assumed that technological change entails similar requirements as organisational restructuring processes. Subsequently, the requirements employees are increasingly confronted with are presented for the field of nursing, caring and curing. The analyses are based on an employment survey jointly carried out by the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), which allows a comparison of the years 2006, 2012 and 2018.The activities are characterised both by a high work intensity and by physically stressful activities. Although it is generally assumed that there will be a decline in physical stress, this has not yet been observed in the activity investigated. Job autonomy, as a psychological resource to cope with different work demands, is also considered in the analyses, with ambiguous results. Altogether, it can be stated that the field of activity of nursing, caring and healing is characterized by comparatively stable work demands. The design of good working conditions in the nursing, care and medical professions should take into account existing challenges as well as new factors that are gaining importance as a result of increasing digitalisation.