Digital Transformations of Traditional Work in the Nordic Countries

Book excerpt: Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2020-540/ This report aim to go behind narratives of digitalization as a uniform force of disruption, job destruction and revolutionary change at work, and convey a nuanced picture of digitalization played out at ordinary Nordic workplaces in traditional sectors of work. The report is explorative and the findings preliminary, but the picture emerging is nevertheless sobering. Findings show how digitalization in important sectors of Nordic labour markets are marked by gradual adaptation rather than paradigmatic, disruptive change. The connection between digital technologies and the organization of work emerges as a two-way relationship where institutions and politics still matter. Our empirical observations also suggest that the actors in the Nordic model of work are able to continue to influence this relationship in ways that appear to be compatible with the modus operandi of the model.