THE 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION – HUMAN RESOURCES CHALENGES

Abstract

The article attempts to assess selected megatrends in the area of human resource management resulting from the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and Industry 4.0. New technologies and automation have been supporting production processes since the First Industrial Revolution (1IR), modifying all areas of the functioning of enterprises. However, together with 4IR and Industry 4.0, the solutions used so far almost exclusively in enterprises went beyond their walls and began to significantly affect the professional and private lives of employees, creating a framework for the concept referred to in the literature as Work 4.0, i.e. work in the realities of 4IR and Industry 4.0. Work in the realities of 4IR and Industry 4.0 is characterized by, among others: almost full automation of activities and robotization of workplaces, work with Big Data, in which employees are overloaded with information. 4IR technologies allow spatial and time flexibility of work, remote work and home office. All these features result in the development of non-standard employment relationships regulating the enterprise employee relationship. However, new technologies have also resulted in the appearance of negative phenomena in the area of work. Work in the realities of 4IR and Industry 4.0 is characterized by disturbances in the work life balance, constant functioning on the so-called "stan by" and fear of missing out (FOMO).