Work Throughout the Industrial Revolutions

and the Impacts of Industry 4.0 on Workers

Mariana Lazari Kawashima(B) , Daniel Braatz, and Fabiane Letícia Lizarelli

Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil

[email protected]

Abstract. The concepts of work found in literature distinguish themselves and

approach the subject from different perspectives. Aiming to expand and update
the reflection on work and its implications for workers, this article presents the
main characteristics of human work throughout history from the perspective of
industrial revolutions and the potential impacts that the Industry 4.0 paradigm
has on it. As critical components of the social sustainability pillar, work and
workers must be a focal point in the face of technological changes with potential
impacts. To achieve this, impressions of professionals from academic and indus-
trial institutions in Brazil and Germany were collected through self-administered
questionnaires and subjected to content analysis. The process highlights impacts
ranging from physical aspects of work environments to psychological effects on
workers. Ultimately, the article concludes by offering a thoughtful reflection on
future guidelines for human work in the context of the new industrial model.

Keywords: Work · Occupational health and safety · Working conditions · Social

sustainability

1 Introduction
Scientific and academic literature offers a broad spectrum of work definitions, each
viewing the subject from unique angles. This divergence in conceptualization stems
from the idea that definitions are culturally shaped entities, developed over time and
influenced by individual interpretations of the concept. These shifts in our understanding
of work are intricately tied to the progression of human knowledge, changes in societal
structures, and shifts in production methods and relationships [1].
Among the existing definitions, some portray work from a perspective restricted to the
activities performed, conceiving it as a set of coordinated activities supported by effort,
aimed at a goal [2]. However, this view can be expanded to encompass the social and
human aspects, understanding work as the performance of an activity, its conformation,
or its impacts on the psychological and social life of the worker [3]. This inclination
towards the social and human nature of work is also seen in Marxist conceptions and
supported by various authors. Marx argued that the expenditure of human force is merely
the material foundation of work, while its essence is social [4]. In his conception, work

© The Author(s) 2025

H. Kohl et al. (Eds.): GCSM 2023, LNME, pp. 269–276, 2025.
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270 M. L. Kawashima et al.

consists of a condition of human existence, a means through which humans distinguish

themselves from their animal nature [5].
Bringing out from the discussed perspectives and aiming to expand and update the
reflection on work and its implications for workers, this article presents the main charac-
teristics of human work throughout history from the perspective of industrial revolutions
and the potential impacts that the Industry 4.0 paradigm has on it. As critical components
of the social sustainability pillar, work and workers must be a focal point in the face of
technological changes with potential impacts in order to ensure rights, improve working
conditions, foster continuous skill development, and create fair working environments
that value workers and guarantee an equitable distribution of the benefits of technological
progress.

2 Work Throughout the Industrial Revolutions

The Industrial Revolutions consisted of processes characterized by unprecedented tech-
nological transformations with impacts on the economic and social systems [6]. Although
commonly described in terms of attributes such as the predominance of energy resources,
transportation modes, and technologies with high economic impacts, these periods also
generated social effects and changes in working conditions.
Pre-industrial manufacturing was carried out by artisans in home-based units, and
work, which was almost entirely manual, had little division [7]. The production was
characterized by technological knowledge as “craft specialization”. Those with this spe-
cialization had control over the production processes, which meant they could determine,
for example, the sequencing of operations and the workday length. This scenario applied
to individual artisans and those working in workshops [8].
With the onset of the First Industrial Revolution, characterized by the invention of
the steam engine, production was shifted from private homes to central factories [9].
Manufacturing, once associated with domestic life, was replaced by a system within
large factories, where work became mechanized and segmented into specialized tasks
[10]. This new production model resulted, among other things, in losing control over the
production process by workers and in relationships of buying and selling labor power
[11]. The daily work schedule was 12 or 13 h, carried out in dangerous and unhealthy
conditions, with high risks of occupational accidents [12].
The Second Industrial Revolution, which began in the 19th century with the inven-
tion of the combustion engine, was marked by rapid industrialization and the use of
petroleum and electricity as power sources for production [13]. The mechanization of
industries was accompanied by the simplification of operations, with the implementa-
tion of automated and repetitive tasks that unskilled workers could perform. This work
organization followed the Scientific Management, or Taylorism [14].
This model has faced criticism from specific authors who argue that the aims of work
rationalization ultimately establish control mechanisms over workers and dominate their
behavior [2]. Another argument is that the social division of labor entails increased pro-
ductivity and the appropriation of knowledge by factory owners [15]. It is also reported
that worker specialization prevents individuals from showing initiative and originality,
makes work tedious, and reduces feelings of accomplishment [7].
 Work Throughout the Industrial Revolutions 271

Technological and scientific developments characterized the Third Industrial Revo-

lution by introducing informatics, microelectronics, and robotics. Simultaneously, new
management and production paradigms gradually replaced Taylorism with Toyotism
[16]. This period was also marked by impacts on labor rights, which were deregulated
and flexible to provide the necessary tools for the productive system to adapt to the new
phase [5]. The flexibilization of work has been heavily criticized as many workers are
forced to submit to informal work, wage reductions, and the loss of labor rights [16].
The unceasing stream of innovations persists with the advent of the Fourth Industrial
Revolution [17], also known as Industry 4.0, whose main differentiating factor is the
introduction and integration of technologies in the industry, such as autonomous robots,
cybersecurity, augmented reality, Internet of Things, additive manufacturing, big data,
and analytics [9, 18, 19]. This model significantly modifies products and production
systems and has consequences for future employment by creating new business models
[20]. Similar to the previous revolution, there is a fear that individuals may be forced to
leave skilled jobs due to the introduction of automated and robotic processes, leading to
increased voluntary and involuntary turnover and levels of unemployment [21].
The qualifications required for professionals in Industry 4.0 involve using digital
technologies, understanding supply chains and customer relationships, and adapting to
changes in career requirements [18]. At the organizational level, professionals tend to act
altruistically with evident demonstrations of going “beyond”, to become less dispens-
able. They may also adopt extreme attitudes such as working 24 h a day, 7 days a week
[21]. Industry 4.0 can also bring some benefits, such as flexibility, improved coordina-
tion, and a better work-life balance. However, there is concern that these advantages may
be accompanied by deregulation of work relationships, pressure for constant availabil-
ity, and new possibilities for evaluating digitally employee performance [18]. Industry
4.0 technologies such as, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, enable new dimensions of
automation, from lightweight robots in the industrial sector, humanoid robots or chatbots
used by banks and insurance companies in customer service to predictive maintenance in
large technical facilities [22]. Technologies such as Big Data and robots can, respectively,
identify patterns and provide dexterity to tasks that were previously manual, and, prob-
ably, this can change the nature of work in all sectors and professions [23]. The authors,
using a predictive model, predict that most workers in transportation/logistics occupa-
tions, bulk of office and administrative support, and labor in production occupations, are
at risk [23].
In summary, the theoretical framework used in this research allows for an expansion
of the schemes and images that illustrate the Industrial Revolutions and their character-
istics. This broader view, which includes the impacts on work, is presented in Fig. 1. In
addition to the theoretical framework presented and to better understand the potential
impacts of the ongoing revolution on human work, this research gathered perceptions
from professionals in Brazil and Germany, the country of origin of the term Industry
4.0, on the subject.
272 M. L. Kawashima et al.

Fig. 1. Modifications and developments in the Industrial Revolutions. Prepared by the authors
based on the theoretical framework [7, 24, 25].

3 Research Method

This article is based on survey-type research conducted through a self-administered ques-

tionnaire, which allowed the identification of participants’ sociodemographic character-
istics and the collection of their perceptions on the topic through an open-ended question
[26]: “In your opinion, what will be the main impacts of Industry 4.0 on people’s work?”.
The sampling method employed was non-probabilistic convenience sampling [27].
The target respondents are professionals from academic and business institutions
in Brazil and Germany. Therefore, the questionnaire was prepared in Portuguese and
English using the Google Forms tool and made available through email, WhatsApp, Face-
book Messenger, and LinkedIn. 78 responses were obtained, three disregarded during
data processing due to their incompatibility with the target respondents.
Most participants (59%) work in the Industrial sector, with engineers and analysts
of various specialties being the most common job positions. Academic professionals,
represented by professors and researchers, account for 41% of the data. Regarding their
affiliation with institutions in Brazil and Germany, 75% of participants reported having a
professional relationship only with Brazilian corporations, 9% exclusively with German
ones, and 16% with both.
The content analysis of the open-ended question was conducted in three steps: 1.
Understanding and summarizing the main concepts from the 75 responses; 2. Counting
the frequency of the concepts; and finally, 3. Grouping similar concepts into categories,
which were progressively developed during the analysis [28].
The first step allowed synthesizing the content into 55 distinct concepts, subsequently
grouped into 12 categories. For example, the responses “Reduced need for manual labor”
 Work Throughout the Industrial Revolutions 273

and “High likelihood of operational tasks being replaced by machine work” were assimi-
lated into the concept of “Reduction of operational job positions”, which was included in
the category “Volume of job positions”. Other concepts such as “Increase in tactical and
strategic job positions” and “Rise in unemployment”, extracted from other responses,
were also included in this category.

4 Results and Discussion

The stage of quantifying the recurrence of each concept revealed that only one respondent
mentioned 51% of them, while 4 (7%) gathered 10 or more occurrences. By grouping
the concepts into broader sets that would provide a more essential understanding of the
responses, the 12 categories displayed in Table 1 were obtained.

Table 1. Content analysis of the main impacts of Industry 4.0 on human work. Elaborated by the
authors (2020)

Categories Occurrences % Occurrences

Competencies 45 29%
Volume of job positions 23 15%
Professional occupations 17 11%
Technology benefits 17 11%
Form and content of work 14 9%
Flexibilization 10 6%
Work environment 9 6%
Training 8 5%
Psychological effects 6 4%
Competitiveness 2 1%
Teams 2 1%
Others 3 2%
Total 156 100%

The category Competencies encompasses the most mentioned concepts by the par-
ticipants. They mentioned impacts on the development of functional, behavioral, social,
and general competencies (41 occurrences). Additionally, three respondents highlighted
the importance of forming a broader understanding of the production flow.
Participants expressed concerns regarding the rise in unemployment (9 occurrences)
in the Volume of Job Positions category. They also indicated a possible reduction in oper-
ational job positions (7 occurrences) and an increase in tactical and strategic positions (3
occurrences). Notably, the opinion of these participants aligns with some authors who
mention that job positions involving simpler and repetitive tasks are more susceptible to
replacement than those involving more complex knowledge [13, 17].
274 M. L. Kawashima et al.

Professional Occupations retains 17 occurrences and encompasses new professions,

occupations’ extinction, replacement, and development. There was also a mention of
the increase in some activities at the expense of others. “Creation of new professions”
and “Extinction or significant reduction of some professions” are among the responses
included in this category.
The concepts included in Technology Benefits depict improvements in the techno-
logical field that generate impacts on workers’ daily lives. For example, the enhancement
in data processing, which includes responses such as “Agility in data compilation”, and
the increase in information in task execution reflect more efficient ways of performing
an activity and affect workers’ day-to-day routines.
In the category Form and Content of Work changes in the content and execution
methods of work were indicated. Additionally, human-machine interaction was refer-
enced in 3 responses, understood as beneficial in one occurrence (“More collaborative
human-machine relationship”) and unspecified in the others (e.g., “Increased bilateral
interaction with machines and equipment”). As for Flexibilization, participants pointed
out the flexibility of the workplace, the working hours, the tasks performed, and the labor
legislation. The “Blending of work and personal life” was also mentioned, stemming
from increased connectivity among individuals.
Regarding the concepts related to the Work Environment, more excellent safety,
ergonomics, and work quality were mentioned as positive impacts of Industry 4.0. The
other points involved physical changes in workstations and the environment, but they
were not accompanied by expressions indicating benefits or drawbacks to the workers.
Additionally, participants indicated increased control and monitoring of work activities.
The need for continuous training and increased professional development were men-
tioned in the Training category. Given that Industry 4.0 encompasses a technological
landscape and technologies are continually advancing, it is reasonable to infer that pro-
fessionals must consistently invest in updating their knowledge and skills. Moreover,
there was a reference to a high number of trainees within organizations due to the need
for constant training.
The Psychological Effects on workers were also noted in line with authors who pro-
pose mental stress as a field of action for implementing the Fourth Industrial Revolution
[29]. Some participants cited a higher psychological burden, loss of focus with simulta-
neous activities, and increased pressure at work. Furthermore, resistance to change and
workers’ need for mental preparation were pointed out. Lastly, one participant portrayed
a lower psychological burden for “professionals operating machines and equipment”.
In the Competitiveness category, two participants indicated increased concurrence
and competitiveness. In the first case, “Concurrence and accelerated pressure from com-
panies for implementation” was mentioned, while the second case did not specify the
agent generating the increase in competitiveness. In Teams, the reduction in team size
and the maintenance of “collectively integrated work” were quoted.
Lastly, the concepts in the “Other” category, which, although mentioned only once,
are relevant for bringing different points such as: “Significant investment in knowledge
management”, “Increase in wage disparity between jobs with and without technical skills
for Industry 4.0”, and “No significant impact”.
 Work Throughout the Industrial Revolutions 275

5 Conclusions and Final Remarks

The impacts of Industry 4.0 include creating, extinction, and replacement of profes-
sional occupations, augmented safety, ergonomics, and work quality, physical changes
in workstations and the work environment, and greater control and monitoring of activi-
ties. Additionally, some participants highlighted the need for intensified and continuous
training, leading to a growing number of trainees within organizations.
Psychological effects on workers include increased psychological burden, loss of
focus with simultaneous activities, and elevated work pressure. The Competitiveness
category denotes higher concurrencies in the workplace and competitiveness, related to
companies pressure. Lastly, the reduction in team size and the maintenance of collectively
integrated work were mentioned.
As observed, the impacts of Industry 4.0 on work extend across different areas,
encompassing physical modifications of the environment and psychological effects on
workers. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to incorporate in studies and implemen-
tation projects in industries topics that highlight the influences of technologies from
the new industrial model on work, ensuring that they bring benefits and more efficient,
sustainable, and safe production systems, rather than becoming an end in themselves.
A critical reflection indicates that with the advent of Industry 4.0 and the dissemi-
nation of the use of technologies will significantly change work, new competencies will
have to be developed by employees, while there is also the prospect of reducing tasks and
disappearing certain types of jobs, while others will emerge. Therefore, there is a need
for future research to monitor changes that have already occurred at work, observing
impacts of specific technologies, such as Big Data and Artificial Intelligence.

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