Effects of Lean and Industry 4.0 Technologies on Job Satisfaction: A Case-Based Analysis

The scarce presence of studies on the role of Digital Lean on the social dimension of sustainability calls for the need to conduct further studies and research to better understand how the integration of the aspects belonging to the Lean Management and Industry 4.0 fields can cope with the issue raised. Combining the notions arising from a review of the scientific literature on the mentioned topics with those resulting from a business case where a Digital Lean program has been implemented, this article provides an analysis of the main effects regarding the integration between the Lean paradigm and digital technologies from a social perspective, assessed through job satisfaction determinants. The results, mapped in an ad-hoc created reference model which merges the main characteristic dimensions of Lean Manufacturing and Industry 4.0, show that the adoption of digital technologies promotes autonomy and upskilling process of operators, just as much as it improves feedback, thus contributing to greater job satisfaction. Nevertheless, the research underlines that such benefits can be dampened whenever digital wastes, high technology costs and a different sensitivity between management and shopfloor operators occur, leading to a strong discouragement among personnel.