Ethics in the digital workplace
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
As announced on 27 December 2022, the German railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB) intends to hire more apprentices and career changers in 2023 than in 2022. According to Deutsche Bahn, the number of jobs available to apprentices and career changers will increase from 340 in 2022 to 460 in 2023. Deutsche Bahn hopes that this move will reduce the number of train cancellations due to sickness. Illness is particularly problematic as many posts require local knowledge, as such, DB aims to recruit people from or with knowledge of specific regions. Jobs are available in Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony.
Deutsche Bahn has currently 211,000 employees in Germany. Previous business expansions in Germany were announced by Deutsche Bahn, recruiting 2000 people in 2021 (Deutsche Bahn-2021-DE) and 5000 in 2020 (Deutsche Bahn-2020-DE).
Update 6/01/2023:
As announced on 6 January 2023, the German railway company Deutsche Bahn intends to create approximately 25000 new jobs in 2023 – with an expected net increase of 9000. DB is looking for new locomotive drivers, dispatchers, maintenance staff, construction supervisors as well as for electronics, IT and data experts. New employees are desperately necessary to tackle the higher sickness rates, which on average are up by 1 to 2%, with temporary local spikes of up to 30%.
Eurofound (2022), Deutsche Bahn, Business expansion in Germany, factsheet number 108159, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/108159.