ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the impact of digital and parametric optimisation in the world of work, emphasising its transformative effects on socio-economic, organisational and individual dimensions. Digital optimisation, characterised by data-driven measurement, evaluation, comparison and iterative improvement processes, is reshaping work across sectors, from platform economies, the service sector to traditional industries. By examining the platform economy as a paradigm of digital optimisation, the review highlights the ambivalent role of algorithmic control mechanisms in fostering autonomy and efficiency while exacerbating surveillance, labour precarity and performance pressure. Beyond platforms, the spread of digital optimisation tools introduces significant changes in organisational structures, with implications for agility, efficiency and subjective experiences of work. The interplay between optimisation and quantification practices on the one hand and the individual’s sense of purpose and well-being on the other underlines the paradoxical outcomes of digital transformation – enhanced autonomy, flexibility and efficiency are counterbalanced by risks of permanent overload, increased control and alienation. Concluding with a critical assessment of opportunities and risks, the chapter identifies avenues for future research on sociocultural and psychosocial impacts of digital optimisation.
