Design Thinking Can Change the (Working) World—A Discussion of the Advantages, Challenges and Solutions of Applying Design Thinking on the Way to New Work

The concept of New Work is not new and has been a much-discussed and partly “hyped” topic for many years. Often it has been turned into a “catch-all term for everything companies find hip and modern” (Olk, J., Scheppe, M. & Wermke, C. (2019, August 17). Why New Work is not properly implemented in German companies. Handelsblatt. https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/management/interview-mit-frithjof-bergmann-warum-new-work-in-deutschen-unternehmen-nicht-richtig-umgesetzt-wird/24899568.html (accessed on 17.10.2022)). Upon closer examination, it becomes apparent: The implementation of the New Work concept in companies is not optimal (cf. Olk, J., Scheppe, M. & Wermke, C. (2019, August 17). Why New Work is not properly implemented in German companies. Handelsblatt. https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/management/interview-mit-frithjof-bergmann-warum-new-work-in-deutschen-unternehmen-nicht-richtig-umgesetzt-wird/24899568.html (accessed on 17.10.2022)). “As far as I know, what I call New Work is not really being carried out in any German company.”—Frithjof Bergemann, the father of the New Work movement (Olk, J., Scheppe, M. & Wermke, C. (2019, August 17). Why New Work is not properly implemented in German companies. Handelsblatt. https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/management/interview-mit-frithjof-bergmann-warum-new-work-in-deutschen-unternehmen-nicht-richtig-umgesetzt-wird/24899568.html (accessed on 17.10.2022)) But why? Why do companies (still) fail to introduce New Work or how can the Design Thinking method possibly solve this problem? The following article addresses these questions.