The issue opens with a conceptual contribution from Peter Oeij, Steven Dhondt and Fiejte Vaas, who explore the compatibility between Modern Sociotechnics and the SMART Work Design model. Rather than advocating convergence, they propose a constructive dialogue between traditions, offering a vocabulary for future interdisciplinary collaboration in the design of human-centred work systems. Eva Lindell, Anette Hallin and Bosse Jonsson follow with a discourse analysis of how blue-collar workers are framed within Industry 4.0 narratives in the Swedish steel industry. Their study uncovers contradictions between rhetorical

commitments to inclusion and the structural persistence of exclusion, highlighting the symbolic and material stakes of technological transformation. The third contribution by Koen Nijland and collaborators examines how smart technologies are reshaping job roles and skills among production workers in manufacturing SMEs. Their findings show not only polarisation in skills and task allocation but also the uneven organisational responses to digitalisation, particularly in relation to training and competence development.

Hideaki Nakai and Yusuke Asada shift the focus to care work, presenting a pilot study on task analysis training in disability welfare facilities in Japan. The study reports measurable improvements in work engagement among staff, suggesting that interventions can support both service quality and professional well-being. From a healthcare perspective, Niek Zuidhof and colleagues offer a longitudinal qualitative study on the use of smart glasses by nurses and care professionals. Using a theoretical framework, the article investigates how such technologies transform communication, collaboration, and perceptions of professional identity. Milan R. Wolffgramm and co-authors revisit industrial contexts through a comparative case study on collaborative robot arms. Their analysis shows how the implementation of identical technologies can result in divergent organisational outcomes, shaped by managerial strategy, workplace culture, and employee agency. Finally, Koen Nijland, Paul Preenen and Luuk Collou present a design framework for inter-organisational ecosystems that support continuous skill development. Their article closes the volume by proposing a practical, system-level model for promoting adaptive learning environments across institutional boundaries.

Published: 27^th June 2025