From Algorithmic Management to Data- driven Labour Organising. A trade union approach to workplace datafication

Authors

Stig Nyman, Copenhagen Business SchoolFollow
Olivia Benfeldt, Copenhagen Business SchoolFollow
Maren Gierlich-Joas, Copenhagen Business SchoolFollow
Christoffer Bagger, University of CopenhagenFollow
Sine Zambach, Copenhagen Business SchoolFollow
Andreas Blicher, Copenhagen Business SchoolFollow
Somnath Mazumdar, Copenhagen Business SchoolFollow
Jacob Nørbjerg, Copenhagen Business SchoolFollow
Mads Boedker, Copenhagen Business SchoolFollow
Jose Parra-Moyano, International Institute for Management Development, LausanneFollow
Tina Blegind Jensen, Copenhagen Business SchoolFollow
Torkil Clemmensen, Copenhagen Business SchoolFollow

Abstract

The increasing datafication of the workplace is often cast as a means of imposing organisational and managerial control on workers. This reflection note moves beyond this view and coins the term data-driven labour organising to discuss the potential of work- place datafication as a way to inform workers about their working conditions and how to use data to advocate for their collective goals. Forging a research agenda on data-driv- en labour organising, the reflection note engages with the historical roots of Scandinavi- an IS research, particularly the trade union (TU) approach. Mobilising the TU approach as a vantage point for re-imagining research on workplace datafication, the reflection note outlines three emerging research topics critical for shifting the research focus from using data for managerial purposes to using data for labour organising. The reflection note concludes by discussing how the TU tradition also invokes a certain research ethos of prac- tical and political engagement, prompting IS researchers to get their hands dirty by actively seeking to reshape the trajectory of digitalisation through practical engagement.

Recommended Citation

Nyman, Stig; Benfeldt, Olivia; Gierlich-Joas, Maren; Bagger, Christoffer; Zambach, Sine; Blicher, Andreas; Mazumdar, Somnath; Nørbjerg, Jacob; Boedker, Mads; Parra-Moyano, Jose; Blegind Jensen, Tina; and Clemmensen, Torkil (2024) "From Algorithmic Management to Data- driven Labour Organising. A trade union approach to workplace datafication," Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems: Vol. 36: Iss. 1, Article 2.
Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/sjis/vol36/iss1/2