Human Resources in the Digital Era: Hybrid Work Environment as a “New Normal”

Introduction

Companies have realised the importance of workplace transformation, which reflects modern work styles, user preferences, and maturing technologies (Attaran et al., 2020). Technology affects people across different cultures and at all points of the lifespan, transforming how they interact, develop, and work (Bryan et al., 2017). As it was analysed, e.g. in Pisa 2021 Creative Thinking Framework (third draft), people are unique in their creativity and ability to bring new solutions to the world's problems. Entering the digital age is a consequence of that. Creativity, ingenuity, entrepreneurship, discovery, all this is based on the natural state of affairs (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2019). It is the essence of man's natural learning from birth. It is a process of chaining motives, the result of which is motivated behaviour, where the intention is to apply positive motivation and avoid demotivation. The question is whether there will be a place for the development of these skills in the digital age. The topic of their development will also need to be addressed.

The chapter aims to assess the perception of the state and trends in selected areas of Human Resource Management in the digital age based on the literature review, secondary data, and an opinion of a sample of professionals in the Czech Republic. The key topic of the chapter is the discussion of issues of the coexistence of people and digital technologies in the work environment. A form of the hybrid world of work is offered as a new opportunity which also brings many challenges (Wheatley et al., 2021). Greater scope for creativity could arise, for example, by saving routine work using robotic process automation (acronym RPA) and intelligent process automation (acronym IPA). The topic is also related to the definition of space for working with talents in the digital age. The use of new information technologies and approaches to them are thus closely linked to the field of human resources management. In general, experts and researchers are beginning to speak of the post-pandemic age as a new norm (People Management Forum, 2021). However, a new norm must be established, as stated in 1918 by Henry A. Wise Wood, who first published this dilemma (National Electric Light Association, 1918, p. 604-605).

The assessment tool used in this chapter is the evaluation of qualitative data obtained from the discussion table method and supplemented by data from a survey (CAWI approach) among the discussion table listeners. Detailed description is provided in the methodology part of this chapter.

The following sub-objectives have been defined to meet the main objective of the chapter:

Sub-Objective 1: Specification of selected areas of human resources management influenced by the development of information technologies on the basis of literary research and assessment with the expert group of the discussion table (see Figure 1).

Sub-Objective 2: Survey design, defining research questions and making statements based on them.

Sub-Objective 3: Implementation of a round table discussion with experts and surveys to find out the opinions among the listeners.

Sub-Objective 4: Evaluation of the survey and findings from the round table discussion and comparison with the theoretical opinion gained from the literature review.

To achieve the goals, a methodological procedure was defined (see the research scheme in Figure 2). The research presented in this chapter is based on theoretical knowledge and a long-term close connection of the authors' professional activities with the business environment. Based on this, the authors decided to examine the perception of the state and trends in the development of information technology and Internet platforms for Human Resource Management using the method of group creative thinking.