A legitimate question that many people in today's working world keep asking themselves is:

How will we work tomorrow?

But what exactly is meant by the term "New Work" and what measures are helping to establish these "new" concepts in companies?

The term "New Work" can be traced back to the social philosopher Frithjof Bergmann. Today, however, the term is used more generally and stands for a fundamental and sustainable change in the world of work (cf. Hackl et al. 2017: 3). 

The concept has its origins in the early 80s of the last century, where it represented a socio-philosophical idea. These changes are subsumed under keywords such as work-life balance, flexibilization, agility and the creation of meaning in work. The digital transformation acted as an enabler and accelerator (cf. Hofmann et al. 2019: 4). 

Furthermore, four directions of New Work can be identified:

Forms of implementation towards more flexibility in terms of location and time, forms of implementation towards increasingly agile and project-based forms of organization and forms of implementation towards an increasing practical relevance of the value-based nature of work and the creation of meaning through work (cf. Hofmann et al. 2019: 4). 

In addition, technologization and digital transformation are triggering developments everywhere in day-to-day business (cf. Bünnagel/Adsiz 2024: 13). 

If companies decide to implement New Work concepts, they must be open to change, as a lot will change.

Various measures exist to enable New Work approaches

An important aspect of New Work is the ability to work from different locations, for example by working from home or remotely. To achieve this, work processes must be feasible regardless of location.

In order to promote comprehensive collaboration, it is crucial that companies adapt the architecture of their office space. Open-space offices and coworking spaces are particularly suitable as they improve communication between teams.

Spaces for sports or relaxation can also help to recharge the batteries for the second half of the working day during breaks. At Timmermann, for example, there is the "Raum Raum", which has a bed for a "power nap" and sports equipment for short, concentrated training sessions.

Promoting flat hierarchies is also crucial. However, this requires relinquishing control and encouraging participation. Timmermann lives these principles through a learning community and a positive error culture in which employees give each other regular feedback and can actively learn from mistakes.

Another measure is the coaching of managers, which is flexible and efficient and offers managers help to help themselves.

Communities of practice are an open exchange format that can be used to discuss hybrid work topics. This promotes a learning community across different functions. 

New Work also goes hand in hand with the promotion of individuality. This implies, among other things, the involvement of employees in strategy development and the definition of learning and performance targets by the employees themselves. The promotion of self-determination is also a key aspect - part of working time can be used for creative and personal projects (cf. Hackl et al. 2017: 72). 

Promoting individuality by granting employees freedom and involving them in company processes has been proven to generate commitment as a key factor influencing the quality of goal achievement. This in turn promotes the loyalty of the individual to the respective company and can increase enthusiasm (see Hackl et al. 2017: 74).