Digitalisation of Work Processes and Fear of Job Loss: Does Digital Risk Governance Play a Role?
Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: The rapid digitalisation of workplaces is transforming how work is organised, coordinated, and controlled. Technologies such as AI-supported systems, automated task allocation, monitoring tools, wearable devices, and mobile digital infrastructures are increasingly embedded in organisational processes across sectors. While these developments may improve efficiency and flexibility, growing evidence suggests that they also generate psychosocial risks, including increased surveillance, work intensification, reduced autonomy, and fear of job loss. Existing research further indicates that these effects depend not only on the technologies themselves, but also on organisational practices surrounding their implementation. This paper examines the relationship between digitalisation of work processes and fear of job loss in European workplaces, with particular attention to the role of digital risk governance. Building on the literature on algorithmic management, psychosocial risks, and digital transformation, the study conceptualises workplace digitalisation as a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing both basic digital infrastructures and more advanced forms of algorithmic and AI-driven management. The literature review highlights that technologies associated with monitoring, coordination, and automation of work processes are most strongly linked to employment insecurity and psychosocial strain, while organisational mechanisms such as employee consultation, training, and digital risk assessment may mitigate these effects. The analysis draws on data from the Fourth European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER 2024), conducted by EU-OSHA, covering 41,458 establishments across EU Member States. Methodologically, the study combines latent class analysis (LCA) with weighted logistic regression models. LCA is used to identify distinct profiles of workplace digitalisation based on the adoption of technologies such as mobile devices, collaborative robots, automated task allocation systems, monitoring systems, AI-based systems, and wearable technologies. Regression models then examine the relationship between digitalisation profiles and fear of job loss, controlling for establishment size, sector, and country effects. Preliminary results indicate that highly digitalised and monitoring-intensive workplaces report significantly higher levels of fear of job loss than low-digitalisation workplaces. Technologies associated with monitoring and algorithmic coordination appear particularly relevant. In contrast, the digital risk governance practice index shows neither a significant direct association with fear of job loss nor a significant moderating effect.
Author: Łukasz Sienkiewicz
Institution: Gdańsk University of Technology
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7223910395