Impact of Industry 4.0 on the job positions during COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia from HR perspective

Abstract

The world is constantly changing. Last year can be considered critical in terms of changes from a historical point of view. Strong technological advances are associated with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed the world. Human resources management has faced the greatest challenge since its inception, the planned changes due to technological progress, digitization and automation have had to be accelerated in several cases and at the same time a smooth transition to a new pandemic operating mode has had to be ensured. The main aim of this paper is to present the research results focused on examination of the influence of Industry 4.0 as well as COVID-19 on changes of job positions. The results of the research will form the basis for the creation of proposals for sustainable human resources management in industrial enterprises in the conditions of the 4th industrial revolution. For the purposes of the analysis, the authors of the paper have designed a valid and reliable collection tool (research survey). The research sample consisted of N = 287 respondents, HR specialists, employees of industrial enterprises in the Slovak Republic. The research result shows that there is direct connection between Industry 4.0 and COVID-19 pandemic influence on job positions.