Work in times of the pandemic - Risk politics and dynamic boundary management of work under the conditions of SARS-CoV-2

冠状病毒大流行对劳动世界产生了深远影响。物理距离措施正在改变工作组织和工作实践，加速了工作世界的数字化转型。但是，工作中非正式的和身体因素的重要性往往被忽视了。相当多的工作活动在不同程度上需要人在场，这阻碍了全面数字化和技术的提高。由于失去身体/身体和社会亲密关系而导致的工作质量风险与物理距离之间的目标冲突引发了多种争议。该项目基于这样的假设，即由于冠状病毒危机，必须重新配置工作的物理和技术维度之间的边界和联系，这与风险竞争的出现有关。现代风险社会面临的挑战是找到适当处理大流行时期出现的不确定性和冲突的方法，并为物理/社会事项的边界变化建立风险治理。该项目在软件工程、制造业中小企业、文化机构（剧院）和医疗保健系统领域的比较实证案例研究的基础上，调查了这种重新配置所导致的变化、紧张领域和治理形式。这允许观察不同部门的工作变化，这些变化是由工作组织和实践的技术性程度增加和具体化/物质性相关的维度来区分的。该项目要回答的核心问题是：哪些工作实践的变化是由冠状病毒危机推动的？工作的身体和技术维度以何种方式重新配置和重新连接？在病毒感染风险与因保持身体距离而影响工作质量的风险之间的紧张关系中，出现了哪些冲突？这些风险冲突是如何在个人、组织和政治层面上进行协商的？组织和政治机构通过哪些监管实践和治理形式来应对这些挑战？可以确定哪些最佳做法来处理紧张和风险冲突的领域？除了分析SARS-CoV-2的后果外，该项目还旨在增进对大流行如何普遍影响工作世界的理解，有助于在（大流行）危机时期制定风险治理的预防性战略。此外，项目结果将有助于进一步发展社会学方法来改变工作和管理社会。在该项目中，工作社会学的专业知识与科学技术研究和治理研究的观点相结合。

The Corona pandemic has a far-reaching impact on the world of work. Physical distancing measures are changing work organization and work practices, accelerating the digital transformation of the world of work. But often the significance of informal and bodily elements of work is overlooked. A considerable amount of work activities requires bodily presence to a varying extent, impeding a total digitization and increased technicality. Manifold controversies are sparked by the conflict of objectives between physical distancing and risks for work quality due to loss of corporeal/bodily and social closeness.This project proceeds from the assumption that boundaries and links between physical and technological dimensions of work have to be re-configured because of the Corona crisis, which is associated with the emergence of risk competitions. Modern risk society is challenged to find an adequate handling of the uncertainties and conflicts emerging in times of the pandemic, and to establish a risk governance for boundary shifts in physical/social matters.The project investigates the changes, areas of tension and forms of governance resulting from this reconfigurations, on the basis of comparative empirical case studies in the fields of software engineering, SME in manufacturing industries, cultural institutions (theatre) and health care system. This permits to observe the change of work in various sectors that are distinguished by the dimensions of degree of increased technicality and relevance of embodiment/corporeality for work organization and practice.Central questions to be answered by the project are: Which changes of work practices are driven forward by the corona crisis? In what way are bodily and technological dimensions of work re-configured and re-linked? Which conflicts emerge in the area of tension between the risk of virus infection and the risk of impairing work quality through physical distancing? How are these risk conflicts negotiated on the individual, organizational, and political level? By means of which regulation practices and governance forms do organizations and political institutions respond to the challenges? Which best practices can be identified to deal with areas of tension and risk conflicts?Beyond an analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 consequences, the project intends to improve the understanding how pandemics generally influence the world of work, contributing to develop preventive strategies of risk governance in times of (pandemic) crises. In addition, the project findings will serve to further develop sociological approaches to the change of work and the governance of society. Within the project, expertise in sociology of work is combined with perspectives from Science and Technology Studies and governance studies.