Characterising Knowledge Workers’ Job Positions

This research proposes a model for identifying job positions that correspond to professional knowledge workers profile. To this end, the job positions are classified according to three variables: the extent to which the activity is dematerialised (working with atoms or bits), the flexibility allowed by the tasks for managing time and location, and the level of complexity of the knowledge associated with the job. Some studies suggest that the always-on model associated with ICTs can disperse attention, lead to a drop in productivity and increase stress. This categorization of knowledge positions is useful for studying productivity as it enables, according to job profile, to differentiate the measures for improvement productivity. The objective of this work is to apply the model and test its usefulness for characterizing net profile job positions. To test the validity of the model, this research presents case studies of companies with knowledge workers in which the proposed variables are studied, together with the way the work is organized and the techniques used to allocate times.