Advisor on all channels - Jutta Rump - Employability (Part 2)

Currently in fashion is the eyewear model "Arbeiten 4.0." You will also soon release a new book. 4.0 has become a kind of cipher for the future of work. What does it look like? There are a number of megatrends such as demographics, digitalization, knowledge and innovation society, or societal value change. These developments have implications for the work system. What is happening at the micro level in workplaces? What is happening at the meso level in companies, with leadership, with dual training, or with career models? What is happening at the macro level, for example, with social partnerships? There are still too few answers to these questions, and in some cases, the questions are not even widely discussed. For example, banking education. We send the apprentices out into a standardized branch world, knowing full well that these branches will hardly exist in the future. So, we are training for a world that has nothing to do with the future. Should HR professionals be worried when looking at the world of work 4.0? All HR professionals who are flexible should not worry at all. On the contrary, they will be important partners in shaping the world of work. From the study by the Robert Bosch Foundation, Future of Work 2030, in which you participated, one number was particularly frequently cited: By 2030, the German labor market will be short of over 6.5 million skilled workers. How strong are the productivity effects of digitalization against this? In the 2013 study, we quantified the supply side, that is, we looked at how many skilled workers will be available to the German labor market by 2030. We assumed a constant demand for jobs. This is how the mentioned labor shortage was predicted. There are different assessments of the overall effects of digitalization. New activities and job fields will emerge, while others are at risk. It is certain that negative employment effects are also expected for the middle qualification segment. The so-called Oxford study by Frey and Osborne predicted this effect for numerous professions in 2013. The ZEW in Mannheim has calculated similar effects for the German labor market. However, this study does not analyze individual professions but looks at activities that are present in various professions. And it shows that even with more complex cognitive tasks, digitalization leads to rationalization. You are omnipresent with your numerous projects, publications, and lectures. You manage an institute, participate in many committees, and of course, also teach at the university. With so much work, how is your work-life balance? I must say upfront: As a research professor, I only have a half teaching load. Nevertheless, an eight-hour day is not enough. But I am fortunate and privileged to have a job that I love, one that aligns with my strengths and talents. Therefore, I do not experience it as a burden or stress. On the contrary, positive stress is an energy source. However, I still try to maintain balance. When you work a lot, you need even more harmony in your personal life. I have that. My husband is a great support. That gives me strength. Your travels are also a source of strength, as I hear. Absolutely. My dream is to have explored all countries of the world in my lifetime. How many are left to visit? Still quite a few, but I have already traveled to 75 countries. My husband and I go on trips for three to four weeks every August. Traveling means moving from place to place. So, you are constantly on the move even on vacation. I am always on the move. That's part of who I am. I cannot do nothing. You mentioned being a research professor. How many lectures do you still give? I still give three to four lectures on topics such as organizational development, international human resource management, and the future of HR work. I try to structure the lectures mostly as block seminars. This allows for much more innovative and intensive work than in traditional lectures. Where do your graduates go after completing their studies, perhaps to BASF here in Ludwigshafen? Since there are not many human resource management programs in Germany, we have a fairly large catchment area. Therefore, students choose their internships and later entry positions nationwide. You studied economics in Bochum. How did you come to study human resource management? By chance and thanks to the fall of the Berlin Wall. My last oral exam was with Professor Engelhardt, who was a marketing professor in Bochum at the time. After the exam, he asked me if I wanted to work with him. But after a few months, I felt I needed to move on, experience something new in a new city. So, I took a position at the Institute for Transport Sciences in Cologne, but then found my true calling a year later: a research project at the Institute for Psychology commissioned by the Treuhand, where companies in the former GDR were to be accompanied in the transformation process. That was a unique opportunity. In the context of this unprecedented transformation process, I also chose my dissertation topic. Unusually, I did my doctorate with Fred Becker, who was at that time establishing a human resource management chair at the University of Jena, so with an external doctoral advisor. This fit well, as I conducted many interviews with employees in Thuringian companies during the project. What was the topic of your dissertation? The project was titled: The company personnel policies in companies in the new federal states. My dissertation topic was: Motivation and performance behavior in Thuringian companies in the transformation process. Here, I was able to combine psychological and sociological aspects and learn the tools of qualitative social research. So, the DNA of your institute dates back to that time. Yes, the focus of our institute can be traced back to that. My career would have been completely different if it weren't for this transformation project. Looking back, I have to say, I was in the right place at the right time. For more information about Jutta Rump, visit: http://www.esa100.de/redner/jr.html