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.
The Swedish public hospital Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset announced its plans to dismiss 600 job positions. The decision affects 250 medical doctors and 350 nurses. Trade unions show concern over the safety of patients and the well-being of the hospital personnel, considering the prospected increase of workload for the remaining employees.
The restructuring event results from the reorganisation of the healthcare system in the county of Stockholm. Indeed, the hospital's new role revolves around the increased provision of specialised healthcare, while other healthcare providers in the county take over some functions which were previously provided by the hospital. These restructuring events have decreased the hospital's profitability, whose economic deficit in 2019 is estimated to reach SEK 1.6 billion (€1,5 billion as at November 2019). The hospital announced another restructuring programme of 550 administrative positions in spring 2019.
Update 14/02/2020:In February 2020 the hospital announced that the number of planned dismissals has decreased and covers now 109 medical doctors and 157 nurses. In addition, the number of job positions affected by the earlier notification from spring 2019 decreased from 550 to 400.
Eurofound (2019), Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset, Internal restructuring in Sweden, factsheet number 99139, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/99139.