Ninety percent of jobs previously occupied by humans have been substituted by robots (Quora, 2018). A report by the PwC argued that 30 per cent of the professions in the UK could be abolished by 2030 as a result of automation (PwC, 2016). Additionally, McKinsey Global Institute (2017) implied that over 800 million jobs worldwide will be lost due to similar reasons. This might lead to increasing unemployment rates in industries that seem to be ‘more automatable’, which refers to occupations that are “on some level routine, repetitive and predictable” (Martin Ford, 2017, as cited in Mahdawi, 2017) or require lower levels of education (McKinsey Global Institute, 2017) . For example, professions such as telemarketer, loan officer, cashier and legal assistant will possibly be at a higher risk of ‘technological unemployment’ (Mahdawi, 2017). Technological unemployment is defined as “unemployment due to technical progress. This applies to particular types of workers whose skill is made redundant because of changes in methods of production, usually by substituting machines for their services” by The Oxford Dictionary of Economics (2018). According to Pew Research Center (2017), seventy-two per cent of Americans is concerned about an automated future, in which “computers are capable of performing many human jobs” (Solon, 2017).
How new is ‘automation anxiety’
Automation anxiety has often emerged throughout history. For example, the Luddite movement of the early 19th century, in which English textile workers destroyed textile machines as a sign of protest against automation (Autor, 2015). Likewise, president John Kennedy ranked automation as the major domestic challenge of the 1960’s (JFK Library, n.d.). This illustrates that concern around automation is not an unknown occurrence. However, in contrast with the automation processes of the 20th century, which mostly affect factory workers, the modern-day computerization is also threatening managerial functions. For instance, an article from the Guardian stated that Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund in the world, has plans to automate the daily management of the firm, which includes hiring, firing and strategic decision-making (Solon, 2016).
Job change rather than job loss
The government has several options to address technological unemployment and automation anxiety. According to McKinsey Global Institute (2017), automation does not lead to job loss, it rather leads to the change of tasks within jobs. These new tasks may require a certain skill set, which employees might not currently possess. Considering this, the first option of the government is to finance lifetime learning. This means that people who are at risk of losing, or have lost their jobs due to automation, will get education and training funded by the government in order to obtain the required skill sets. An example of this training is the General Assembly, which is a company that provides training in coding, one of the skills that these new tasks will possibly require (The Economist, 2017). Another example to illustrate the importance of lifetime learning is the fact that even LinkedIn Corporation, a professional- networking platform, has decided to implement a training system by buying the online training business, Lynda, in 2015 and converting it into LinkedIn Learning (The Economist, 2017).
Possible temporary solution
Considering the fact that the primary reason of the concerns around automation is job insecurity (Sherman, 2018), a second, more temporarily solution is the implementation of wage insurance. This entails the compensation of wage that is lost when an employee is discharged or is obliged to obtain a new job with lower salary due to automation. The wage insurance could function as temporarily income while the employee, for example, is receiving subsidized education to be able to apply for better jobs. In essence, this insurance will only apply to people that are actively participating in the aforementioned educational events. This could motivate the labor force to participate in these events.
How to survive automation anxienty
In conclusion, automation is perceived as a threat by the majority of the labor force due to the possible effects on their job security. Taking into consideration the fast-changing, modern-day environment of the job market, the necessity of lifetime learning has increased. The modern-day labor force is expected to ‘keep up’ with the rapidity of technological developments. In addition, the implementation of wage insurance could motivate employees to participate in events that will enhance their skills. Therefore, governments are expected to protect the labor force against the possible consequences of automation by financing lifetime learning and implementing wage insurance.
What do you think: will ‘robots steal our jobs’ or will automation help us achieve greater successes?
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Hi Rowan,
Interesting post! To answer your question: i think automation will definitely help us to achieve greater successes, but i also agree that possible job loss is an issue that must be addressed. I ffind your possible temporary solution interesting and quite innovating as well. However, i wonder if it is not already too late to start reeducating people, after they lost their job. Wouldn’t it be better to anticipate on these changes in the workforce, and start retraining people for the right jobs already, so that they will never have to lose their job but can make a gradual transition towards the new/adjusted job?