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Intensification

Classic models of automation suggest it will be labour saving. However there is a growing literature which seeks to understand how digital technologies intensify human activity at work, by increasing the density of tasks completed by people. This has been described as ‘power-biased’ and ‘effort-biased’ technological change. Resources in this collection aim to inform and unpack the difference between intensification and augmentation to better understand how technology changes job quality. We are keen to critically engage with a wide range of perspectives on the future of work. These resources do not necessarily reflect the views of IFOW.

Intensification

Up-skilling and the intensification of work: The ‘Extended role’ in nursing and midwifery

'Up-skilling’ may also drive an intensification of work, blurring the boundaries between augmentation and intensification.
Intensification

Do Older Employees Suffer More from Work Intensification and Other Intensified Job Demands?

The demands of intensified work may be more common among older employees.
Intensification

Digitalization of Logistics Work: Ergonomic Improvements Versus Work Intensification

As in our own work on the Amazonian Era this paper reveals the increased control of logistics workers under the guise of ‘ergonomics’.
Intensification

Information and communication technology use, work intensification and employee strain and distress

This paper uses US Survey data to consider how work ICT may impact contemporary work.
Intensification

Job Insecurity and Work Intensification

This book examines the impact of changes in work design on individuals, their families and the long term health of the economy.
Intensification

The Intensification of Work

This chapter tracks developments in work intensity over the past three decades.
Intensification

Technology‐related factors contributing to labour intensification of surgical production

The case study of surgical work helps us consider how intensification works in practice.
Intensification

Labour Intensification, Work Injuries and the Measurement of Percentage Utilization of Labour (PUL)

This research examines changes in the intensity of work in the manufacturing sector.
Intensification

The intensification of work in Europe

Data from the European Survey on Working Conditions is used to demonstrate the rise in work effort in the UK, relative to the rest of Europe.
Intensification

Power-Biased Technological Change and the Rise in Earnings Inequality

Technology can contribute to wage inequality through increasing the effort of ‘low skill workers’.
Intensification

Why has Work Effort become more intense?

This paper investigates possible explanations for work intensification, using four British data sets.
Intensification

A Model of Power Biased Technological Change

This paper considers ways in which wage inequality may relate to intensification.

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