Why matter still matters for digital-age workers

UC Connect public lecture: Why matter still matters for digital-age workers

The world of work and the experiences people have at work have changed radically as digital tools and online ways of working have become more prevalent.

As managers take advantage of digital technologies to communicate, manage information, work remotely and reduce costs, it has become easier to overlook the more mundane material aspects of work. Aspects such as the social and material geography of the work environment.

University of Canterbury Professor of Management Dr Colleen Mills’ upcoming UC Connect public lecture will focus on the findings of her own, and other, recent research suggesting that, despite our digital ways of working, the corporeal world of work still matters and can be used in strategic ways to enhance both the organisational climate and productivity.

Prof Mills has always been interested in how people make sense of their experiences at work. In particular, how this sense affects the organisational climate and productivity, especially during periods of change and development when ambiguity and uncertainty are particularly common. Her most recent work is examining how the material world of work shapes this sense and can be harnessed to implement change.

Prof Mills is internationally recognised for her work on organisational change, business startup and the introduction of innovative practices. As well as her work at the University of Canterbury, she is an International Faculty Affiliate at Audencia Business School in France where she is the senior scholar in a team working on studies of innovative companies, particularly those engaged in liberation management projects designed to engage workers more actively in strategic development. These studies are revealing the importance of treating the material world as a critical resource that needs to be carefully strategised for change initiatives to succeed.

UC Connect public lecture: Why matter still matters for digital-age workers, Dr Colleen Mills, Professor of Management, 7pm on Wednesday 5 April at the University of Canterbury.

Register to attend at: www.canterbury.ac.nz/ucconnect

ends

© Scoop Media