Second 'New Work' Workshop: Temporal and functional flexibility in the workplace
The second workshop in the series 'New Work in public administration' took place on 19 and 20 September 2024 and focused on the temporal and functional flexibility in the workplace. The workshop, organised by the NIPAG, was chaired by Prof. Dr Jan Ziekow and DrSilke I. Keil in cooperation with the Subcommittee on 'General Administrative Organisation' (UA AV) of Task Force VI of the Conference of the Ministers of the Interior in the conference rooms at the Berlin office of the NIPAG.
The aim of the workshop was to draw on the speakers' contributions to gain an insight into innovative working models under the umbrella of New Work and to engage in a discussion on their applicability, opportunities and challenges for public administration.
Prof. Dr Jan Ziekow (Institute Director) and Dr Silke I. Keil (Managing Director) introduced the event and the programme. Friederike Bickmann (NIPAG) briefly presented an overview of the two working models that were the focus of the workshop, outlining the challenges and offering insights into their implementation in public administration. Andreas Donderski (Head of Department, Ministry of the Interior and for Municipal Affairs of the State of Brandenburg, MIMA) and Nadine Kalisch (MIMA) presented the pilot project on desk sharing carried out at the MIMA and evaluated by the NIPAG. Catherine-Marie Koffnit (Ombudswoman, Deutsche Bahn AG) presented her personal experience with the top-sharing model and the requirements for this particular form of job sharing. The first day of the event was brought to a close by a presentation by Thorsten Schmidt (Head of Department, Senator for Finance of the City of Bremen) and Christine Schröder (Senator for Finance of the City of Bremen) on the development process and experiences surrounding the Bremen administration Innovation Campus.
The second day of the event commenced with opening remarks by Peter Schmidt (Head of Department, City of Ludwigshafen) and Lars Baumann (City Councillor, City of Hanover). Each speaker presented on the topic of piloting the 4-day week. Nicole Reymann (Public Sector Knowledge Manager, Senate Department for the Interior and Sport of the State of Berlin) concluded the practical contributions with a presentation on knowledge management models within the framework of offboarding in the Berlin Senate Administration.
The workshop concluded with a round-table discussion, moderated by Prof. Dr Jan Ziekow and Dr Silke Keil in which the workshop participants shared their insights on the lessons learned for public administration. These insights were drawn from the various experience reports that were compiled and discussed throughout the workshop. The participants also discussed how these experiences can inform the future of public administration in Germany.
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New Work in public administration
New Work is an approach that describes the transformation of the modern workplace. It encompasses not only new forms and models of work, but also changes in social structures and the demands placed on employees. It therefore encompasses the organisational, societal and individual levels. The National Institute for Public Administration Germany is designing a tailor-made model project for the administrations in ministries to develop new forms and models of work with the help of New Work approaches. The implementation of the model in each participating ministry will be accompanied by empirical surveys. This will primarily allow rapid access to results and secondly deliver reliable conclusions for medium and long-term planning of work forms and models.
