Reinventing Work Chair Awards Best Master Thesis Prize to Peter Schultz for His Study on Flexible Work for Blue-Collar Employees
We are proud to announce that Peter Schultz has been awarded the Best Master Thesis Prize by the Reinventing Work Chair for his outstanding research on flexible work arrangements for blue-collar workers.
Supervised by Professor Almudena Cañibano, Peter’s thesis, “Are blue-collar workers overlooked in the light of contemporary flexible work arrangements? A Case Study on a German Manufacturing Company”, explores a largely neglected area within the broader discussion on workplace flexibility.
Having grown up in a family closely connected to physical labor, Peter was inspired to examine this topic during his specialization in digital transformation, where flexible work is often portrayed as a universal solution. He questioned whether such arrangements are genuinely feasible or desirable for blue-collar workers, and how they might be implemented in practice.
His key findings include:
- One-size-fits-all approaches do not work; especially for blue-collar roles, where job requirements often depend on physical presence and coordination with others.
- Younger workers increasingly demand flexibility, and with an aging workforce, organizations will need to respond to these expectations to attract and retain talent.
- Flexibility is not universally desired; some blue-collar workers even express fear or discomfort toward flexible arrangements, suggesting that implementation must be sensitive to context and preferences.
We warmly congratulate Peter Schultz on his excellent and timely contribution, and we wish him every success in his future endeavors.
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