PROCEEDINGS OF THE 14 th INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE “Managing Sustainable Organizations” 5 th -6 th November, 2020, BUCHAREST, ROMANIA DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT Lavinia GRUIA a* , Nicolae BIBU b , Alexandru ROJA c , Marian NĂSTASE d a Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, Romania b Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, Romania c Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, Romania d Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to discuss how the working environment has changed due to coronavirus pandemic. While it is true that along the human history working environments have been changed to automation and digitalization. It is safe to assume at this point in time that digital transformation was accelerated and businesses are being forced to adopt technologies and measures in order to protect their employees. This paper will show the challenges and impact faced by both employees and businesses and what measures can be taken in order to mitigate the risks. Coronavirus will have an impact on the working environment even after is over because digital businesses will adopt a hybrid work style while businesses in manufacturing will continue their automation. KEYWORDS : digital organizations, remote work, teleworking, working from home JEL CLASSIFICATION : L86, M15, O30 1. INTRODUCTION Given the fact that Covid-19 is easily transmitted from one person to another business had to embark on a digital transformation journey that is human-centric, prioritizing the adoption of technologies in order to ensure human safety and wellbeing. The coronavirus pandemic has forced businesses into a new reality and led to a digital transformation of the working environment. A major impact of the pandemic was on businesses’ workforce because of the requirement to socially (physically) distance and the lockdown that occurred. Some businesses were less impacted because they were agile and able to take quick action such as adopting technologies quickly for the work to be done by the employees remotely. Others had to close entirely their activities or reduce their working hours. The coronavirus pandemic has pushed businesses into adapting to virtual work environments in order to protect the employees from the virus. The analysis of human history indicates that working environments have changed across various periods of time. The first major change took place during the first industrial revolution when people moved from working the field and farms in rural areas into the cities to work in steam-powered factories. As seen in the first industrial revolution people moved into the cities because the working environment was better and provided a higher social status. During the second wave of the industrial revolution, more processes in factories were mechanized leading to mass production, and more people were needed in factories. During the third wave on the industrial revolution which is * Corresponding author. E-mail address: gruialavinia23@gmail.com