Potential Resistance of Employees to Change in the Transition to Industry 5.0

Abstract

The unprecedented evolution of the technological environment inevitably generates resistance to change in the population. The paper aims to detect these resistances in the conditions of a future transition to Industry 5.0. Firstly, we present the results of a bibliographic study of the specialized literature, in order to answer the dilemma of the existence or absence of the differences between the two concepts, that of Industry 4.0 and that of Industry 5.0. Secondly, the paper contains the results of an online survey based on a questionnaire conducted among employees in the central area of Romania. The research is related to the employees’ perception on the possible evolution of the economic environment by implementing the concept of Industry 5.0. and focuses on issues that may bother them in their professional lives. Although we found that there are many oppositions to a potential transition to Industry 5.0, we still appreciate that the accelerated evolution of technology will be able to reduce much of them, the speed of technological change being much higher than the reaction speed of employees.