The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the digital transformation of work

Abstract

PurposeThis study investigates whether the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an acceleration of the digital transformation in the workplace.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on a survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic from March to April 2020 on the crowdsourcing platform Amazon Mechanical Turk.FindingsThe findings show an increase of people working from home offices and that many people believe that digital transformation of work has accelerated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. People who noted this acceleration can imagine working digitally exclusively in the future. Moreover, the importance of traditional jobs as a secure source of income has decreased, and digital forms of work as a secure source of income have increased because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers believe that digital work will play a more important role as a secure source of income in the future than traditional jobs.Research limitations/implicationsBecause the survey was conducted online, respondents may have had a certain affinity for digital work.Originality/valueThis study assesses the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the future of work, showing that changes in the perception of digital transformation and the willingness to work exclusively in a digital manner have arisen as result of the COVID-19 pandemic. To estimate the long-term consequences of the pandemic on the digitisation of work, research that includes macroeconomic consequences in its forecast is necessary.