18.12. REPAIR Scholarly Talk by Simon Schafheitle

Associate Professor Simon Schafheitle (University of Twente) delivered a talk titled Good Work Enables Good Life – How AI Changes the Way Employees Give Account of Their Work on December 18 at 13:00 in the Main Building of the University of Helsinki.

Good Work Enables Good Life – How AI Changes the Way How Employees Give Account to Their Work

In this talk, Schafheitle presents an initial analysis of how datafication technologies, such as AI algorithms and digital monitoring, affect employees’ experience of meaningful work. Drawing on interviews with employees and managers in two large public organizations that both visibly contribute to the greater good, the study explores why one sustains meaning under heavy technological permeation while the other struggles. The insights serve as a starting point for discussion on how organizations can humanize technology to preserve a work worth working for.

Simon Schafheitle is an Assistant Professor of Human Resource Management and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Twente (Netherlands). He earned his PhD in Management from the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) in 2020, focusing on trust and datafication in modern workplaces. His research explores how technology shapes organizational control and human relationships in digital work settings. Simon serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Trust Research and has received the Schmalenbach and Wolfgang Heilmann Awards for his innovative and impactful scholarship.