Remote Work

The Corona crisis offers great opportunities for the digital transformation of the working world, but it also presents us with major challenges. In a very short time, we have adapted to new situations and new ways of working. Face-to-face meetings and conferences are replaced by video conferencing or hybrid formats, the daily round of coordination and the short conversation at the printer becomes a phone call a virtual coffee drink.

The World of Work 4.0 theme platform webinar series introduces itself. (Photo credit: iStock©VioletaStoimenova)

To shed comprehensive light on the topic of remote work and the digital transformation of the working world, the ZD.B theme platform Arbeitswelt 4.0 organized a 14-part webinar series in cooperation with the VDMA in spring 2020. The topics covered were:

Moderating virtual conferences 

(Speaker: Alissa Stein)

• How can I prepare and structure video conferences well before and after? 
• What do I have to pay attention to when planning and moderating virtual meetings?

Digital Mindset 

(Speaker: Julian Knorr) 

• How is digital transformation changing organizations? 
• What constitutes a digital mindset and why is it so important for the success of organizations? 
• How can the Mindset Canvas figure out how to be creative, customer satisfactionRemote Work, entrepreneurial action orientation, critical thinking skills, an open approach to mistakes or agility can develop?

Ergonomics in the Home Office

(Speakers: Christoph Tischner, 8sense, Yvonne Maisch, BSK, as well as Dr. Lutz Graumann, sports physician)

• How can you design your workstation at home ergonomically? 
• What is the right sitting position
• How can you keep physically fit while working in an office at home?

Data protection and IT security in the home office

(Speakers: Bianca Sum and Dominik Golle, Zentrum Digitalisierung.Bayern)

• What do companies have to consider when it comes to data protection and IT security in the home office, what the employees themselves? 
• How can security-related risks be minimized?

Time and Self-Management in the Home Office 

(Speakers: Dr. Alexandra Hauser and Dr. Emanuel Schreiner, TU Munich)

• How can time competence be increased in the home office? 
• What must be considered when setting goals and priorities and how can one eliminate disruptive factors and make the workday at home more efficient?

Mental Health in the Home Office 

(Speakers: Dr. Anna Brzykcy, TU Munich and Tobias Heiler, brainboost)

• How does digital working affect the health of employees in Germany?
• How to stay mentally fit in the home office? 
• How to prevent digital overload by reflecting and controlling the dissolution of boundaries? 
• What practical tips are there for relaxation and mobilization of body and mind?

Digitization of business models 

(Speaker: Petra Dahm, flame)

• How can organizations use the Corona crisis to rethink their offerings, distribution channels, workflows and communication behavior ad hoc? 
• Why should organizations digitize their business models? 
• How can digital transformation be rapidly implemented in the enterprise?
• For which departments is this relevant? 

Bringing Digital Learning into the Organization

(Speakers: Chris Hollweg and Selma Neumeyer, viwis)

• What are the opportunities and challenges, formats and scenarios of digital learning? 
• How can the advantages of e-learning - flexibility, need-basedness, interactivity, standardized quality and the possibility to organize one's own workflows independently - be used? 
• What success factors do digital learning formats offer and how can they be used sustainably? 

Leadership and Collaboration in Virtual Teams

(Speakers: Dr. Alexandra Hauser and Dr. Emanuel Schreiner, TU Munich)

• How does good communication work in virtual teams? 
• What disruptions can affect the communication process when working remotely? 
• Which medium is best suited for conveying which message? 
• Why should rules of conduct and performance be agreed upon? 
• How do managers communicate appropriately with their employees in the current situation, where there are many uncertainties?

Knowledge Management in Virtual Teams

(Speaker: Dr. Markus Böhm, TU Munich)

• How can communication in the organization help to reduce the perceived distance in remote work?
• What are the tasks of knowledge management? 
• How can you create a productive learning environment and space for experimentation that promotes knowledge transfer?

Resilience - surviving crises unscathed

(Speaker: Claus Welles, Welles & Welles Personal- und Strategieberatung)

• What factors help to successfully cope with crisis situations - especially for organizations? 
• What role do empathic listening and mutual understanding in the interaction of organizational members play for resilience? 
• How can we strengthen our self-esteem as "the immune system of consciousness" in times of crisis? 

Understand agility and implement it in the organization

(Speaker: Sven Franke, CO:X)

• Why are we dealing with agility? 
• What changes in the world of work are accelerating its introduction and implementation? 
• What does this development mean for companies and for the everyday work of managers and employees? 
• How can agile working methods be used successfully? 

OKRs, the management method for uncertain times

(Speaker: Markus Stenglein, New Work Squad)

• How do OKRs help companies and employees, especially in the current situation of orientation and coordination to set the focus? 
• Why does this management method provide sustainable clarity? 
• Why is it suitable for any focus and forces collaboration in the company and creates transparency and security? 

Giving feedback appreciatively even remotely

(Speaker: Silke Schönwälder, New Work Squad)

• How can you give recognition and feedback even in times with less personal contact with employees? 
• What structures for feedback are there and tips for can you give and accept feedback even when working together at a distance?