The ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution fundamentally changes the world of work. Recent technological innovations have a significant impact on global economy, all areas of the national economy and on our everyday life. This diploma thesis deals with these impacts on the labour market in connection with the advancing trend of automation and digitization of work. Discussion on the future development of the revolution is in the sphere of expertise highly polarized. Versions that represent a negative view of the issue include image of massive job replacement, lack of talent and the rise of socio-economic and other inequalities. On the other hand, there are concepts that emphasize the positive impact on the labour market. The aim of this diploma thesis is to classify the trends in the working relations through the comparison of these two opinion streams and the systematic arrangement of the arguments presented by them. The final part addresses the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the Czech Republic. KEY WORDS the Fourth Industrial Revolution, automation, digitization, future of work, labour market, flexibility at work, new trends in employment

Work–life balance is one of the most central issues and concerns for 21st century societies, and according to the American Psychological Association balancing work and family is one of the major challenges for the current generation of employees. Helping employees balance their work and family life is viewed as a social and business imperative since work–life imbalance experienced by employees negatively impacts on employers and society as a whole. Evidence from a study of international employers indicates significant increases in the implementation and use of workplace flexibility, more commonly known as flexitime, as a work–life balance policy. Research into the use and implementation of flexitime within South Africa is limited, especially with regard to the aspects that influence the use of flexitime as well as the associated benefits, challenges and consequences for both South African employees and organisations. Consequently, organisations are left to design, implement and manage their own flexitime policies, with very little information or guidance available to ensure employee and organisational benefit. In this study, a qualitative research design with an exploratory approach was used to explore and describe employees? perceptions regarding the implementation of flexitime. A non–probability purposive, voluntary sample of 15 participants was taken from the offices of an international auditing and consulting organisation located in Johannesburg. Data was collected by means of semi–structured individual interviews and the verbatim transcripts were analysed by means of content analysis. Seven themes were extracted from the interviews, namely: variations in the use of flexitime; factors influencing the use of flexitime; challenges relating to the use of flexitime; perceptions regarding the use of flexitime; required aspects for the effective use of flexitime; consequences relating to the use of flexitime; and the benefits resulting from the use of flexitime. Organisations should be made more aware of the individual as well as organisational benefits, challenges and consequences of flexitime as highlighted in this research. When implementing such policies, specific required aspects for the effective use of flexitime should be taken in consideration. Organisations interested in successfully implementing flexitime for the benefit of both the employee and organisation are advised to consider the findings of this study and take heed of the critical findings presented. Efforts should be made to accommodate employee preferences regarding their use of flexitime. Organisations should be alert to the potential challenges, consequences and negative perceptions surrounding flexitime and, consequently, the importance of ensuring that prerequisites or those aspects required for the implementation of flexitime are in place and perceptions relating to the policy are managed. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Work–life balance is one of the most central issues and concerns for 21st century societies, and according to the American Psychological Association balancing work and family is one of the major challenges for the current generation of employees. Helping employees balance their work and family life is viewed as a social and business imperative since work–life imbalance experienced by employees negatively impacts on employers and society as a whole. Evidence from a study of international employers indicates significant increases in the implementation and use of workplace flexibility, more commonly known as flexitime, as a work–life balance policy. Research into the use and implementation of flexitime within South Africa is limited, especially with regard to the aspects that influence the use of flexitime as well as the associated benefits, challenges and consequences for both South African employees and organisations. Consequently, organisations are left to design, implement and manage their own flexitime policies, with very little information or guidance available to ensure employee and organisational benefit. In this study, a qualitative research design with an exploratory approach was used to explore and describe employees? perceptions regarding the implementation of flexitime. A non–probability purposive, voluntary sample of 15 participants was taken from the offices of an international auditing and consulting organisation located in Johannesburg. Data was collected by means of semi–structured individual interviews and the verbatim transcripts were analysed by means of content analysis. Seven themes were extracted from the interviews, namely: variations in the use of flexitime; factors influencing the use of flexitime; challenges relating to the use of flexitime; perceptions regarding the use of flexitime; required aspects for the effective use of flexitime; consequences relating to the use of flexitime; and the benefits resulting from the use of flexitime. Organisations should be made more aware of the individual as well as organisational benefits, challenges and consequences of flexitime as highlighted in this research. When implementing such policies, specific required aspects for the effective use of flexitime should be taken in consideration. Organisations interested in successfully implementing flexitime for the benefit of both the employee and organisation are advised to consider the findings of this study and take heed of the critical findings presented. Efforts should be made to accommodate employee preferences regarding their use of flexitime. Organisations should be alert to the potential challenges, consequences and negative perceptions surrounding flexitime and, consequently, the importance of ensuring that prerequisites or those aspects required for the implementation of flexitime are in place and perceptions relating to the policy are managed. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution fundamentally changes the world of work. Recent technological innovations have a significant impact on all areas of the national economy and on our everyday life. This diploma thesis deals with these impacts on the labour market in connection with the advancing trend of automation and digitization of work. Discussion on the future development of the revolution is in the sphere of expertise highly polarized. Versions that represent a negative view of the issue include image of massive job replacement, lack of talent and the rise of social inequality. On the other hand, there are concepts that emphasize the positive impact on the labour market. The aim of this diploma thesis is to classify the trends in the working relations through the comparison of these two opinion streams and the systematic arrangement of the arguments presented by them. The final part addresses the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the Czech Republic. KEY WORDS the Fourth Industrial Revolution, automation, digitization, future of work, labour market, flexibility at work, new trends in employment

Som en del av den pågående reformeringen av Arbetsförmedlingen lanserades under våren 2020 en ny matchningstjänst på svensk arbetsmarknad, tjänsten Kundval Rusta och Matcha (KROM). Handledarna är anställda på privata företag och arbetar för att coacha de som är inskrivna på KROM-tjänsten. Syftet med denna studie är att skapa ökad förståelse för de förutsättningar som KROM-handledarna har i sitt arbete. Studiens har undersökt förutsättningar för åtta handledare som är anställda i fem olika externa leverantörer, det vill säga privata företag som levererar KROM-tjänsten. Studiens bygger på personliga förutsättningar samt interna förutsättningar. För att besvara studiens syfte användes en kvalitativ ansats med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Studien använde ett hermeneutiskt förhållningssätt och tillämpade deduktiv ansats. Resultatet visar att handledarna har nästan likadana förutsättningar när det gäller coachning erfarenheter och färdigheter. Handledarna använder sig av GROW-modellen i sin coachningsmetod och med en tro på egen intuition och tysta kunskap. Resultatet visar att handledarna upplever att ett stort socialt nätverk ökar handledarnas möjlighet att hjälpa deltagarna till en få en anställning. Resultaten visar att de interna/organisatoriska förutsättningarna för varje handledare är olika där en del handledare upplever att de inte har tillräckliga förutsättningar angående lärandet och kompetensutveckling. Även gällande feedback finns det variation vissa handledare upplever att de får tillräckligt feedback och återkoppling av sin chef och en del önskar mer feedback på sin prestation. Resultatet visar också att samtliga handledarna upplever stort flexibilitet och arbetsfrihet i sitt yrke. / As part of the ongoing reform of the Swedish Public Employment Service, a new matching service was launched in the Swedish labor market in the spring of 2020, the Kundval Rusta och Matcha (KROM) service. The supervisors are employed by private companies and work to coach those who are registered in the KROM-service. The purpose of the study is to create an understanding of the conditions that the supervisors have in their work. The study has examined the conditions of eight supervisors who are employed by five different external suppliers, ie private companies that supply the KROM-service. The study is based on personal conditions as well as internal and external conditions. To answer the purpose of the study, a qualitative approach was used, and semi-structured interviews were conducted. The study used a hermeneutic approach and applied a deductive approach. The results show that the supervisors have almost the same conditions when it comes to coaching experience and skills, the supervisors use the GROW-model in their coaching method and use their strong intuition and tacit knowledge. The results show that the supervisors experience that a wide social network increases the supervisors' ability to help KROM-participants to find a job easily. The results show that the internal / organizational conditions for each supervisor are different, some supervisors experience that they do not have good enough conditions regarding learning and competence development, some supervisors experience that they receive sufficient feedback from their manager, some have lesser conditions and strives for more feedback on their performance. The results also show that all supervisors experience great flexibility and freedom of work in their occupation.