The rapid development of digital technologies is changing the working environment across different professions and generations. The international research network DIGI-net, which also involves researchers from Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU), examines how digitalization affects people in the later stages of their working lives and what new opportunities and forms of inequality it creates in the labour market.
The COST project CA21107 Work inequalities in later life redefined by temporalities and digitalization (DIGI-net) has brought together more than 400 researchers from 44 countries since 2022. Researchers analyse how digitalization, automation, and the development of artificial intelligence affect the working conditions, health, and labour market situation of employees aged 50 and over. Attention is paid to inequalities between younger and older employees, age-related organisational culture, ageism or discrimination based on age, as well as the relationship between workplace digitalization and health.
One of the key conclusions of the project is that older employees are not a homogeneous group. Their experience of using technology varies depending on their profession, education, health status, previous professional experience, and the support provided by their employer. Research shows that the problem is often not the employee’s age itself, but rather the way new technologies are introduced in the workplace.
If employees are not provided with sufficient time, training, and support to adapt to changes, digitalization can increase technostress, feelings of insecurity, and concerns about losing professional competencies. Conversely, thoughtfully implemented technologies can make work easier, improve its efficiency, and open up new professional opportunities. Therefore, researchers emphasize that digitalization should be viewed not only as a technological process, but also as a process of social and organizational change.
To ensure that technological development does not increase inequality in the labour market, it is essential to provide accessible and practically oriented training, involve employees in the introduction of new technologies, and promote knowledge exchange between generations. It is also important to implement personnel policies that meet the needs of different age groups and thoughtful communication that does not reinforce the stereotype that older people are unable to adapt to digital changes.
DIGI-net researchers have also focused on how perceptions of older employees are created and disseminated through social media, organizational communication, and news media. Particular attention is paid to stereotypes about age and digital skills, including in employee recruitment processes, as such perceptions can affect people’s employment and professional development opportunities.
RSU’s involvement in DIGI-net enables Latvian researchers to participate in an international and interdisciplinary research network in which labour market changes are examined in relation to population ageing, health, digitalization, and social inequality.
The results of four years of cooperation were presented at the DIGI-net closing conference in June of this year. The conference brought together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working on issues related to digitalization, population ageing, and labour market changes. Participants presented the latest research findings and discussed how to create a fairer and more inclusive working environment amid rapid technological development.
DIGI-net research findings show that when discussing ageing in the digital workplace, the key question is not only whether older employees are able to adapt to new technologies. Equally important is how technologies are introduced and what support is provided to employees so that opportunities to improve skills, adapt to change, and continue professional activity are available to people of different generations.
