Research project
In the 1970s, contemporaries observed a fundamental shift in job requirements. According to a widely accepted interpretation, “knowledge” replaced industrial work as the crucial factor of economic performance. Hence, intellectual labor and mental abilities became more important. Yet physical labor – itself increasingly linked to cognitive demands, and subject to changing bodily requirements – continued to shape everyday working life in blue-collar and even white-collar occupations.
Based on this observation, the project analyzes how job requirements in three high-tech industries – the automotive, chemical, and information and communication technology industries – shifted in the Federal Republic of Germany since the 1970s. How did these changes affect the workload, the job requirements as well as the physical and psychological pressure on workers and employees? What were the consequences for the workers’ and employees’ efficiency? On the one hand, the project scrutinizes how experts perceived and assessed changes in the workplace. For instance, the project will examine how scientists and industry representatives described and conceptualized changes in product design and development, particularly with the onset of digitization. Furthermore, the project will discuss the methods both groups used to measure, assess, and regulate the performance of physical and intellectual labor. Where did the experts perceive the potential to increase efficiency? Where did they locate the limits of the employees’ and workers’ efficiency? On the other hand, the project will link this approach with the social history of workers and employees, reviewing the changes in their work environment: Which measures did companies implement to regulate and control the workforce? How were these measures meant to prevent undue stress and increase efficiency? Combining these perspectives, the project will show how expert debates and new measures on the shop floor and in the office affected the behavior of workers and employees.
The project focuses on three different business units and occupational groups: 1) engineers, scientists and IT experts in research and development; 2) employees in management, marketing and controlling; 3) the workers in selected branches of manufacturing. To identify what is specific to developments in Germany, the project draws asymmetric comparisons with East Germany, the United States, and France.
