No matter which industry one works in, a recent study conducted in the U.K by consultancy Deloitte (which was then reported by The Guardian) accumulated 140 years of census information which lead to the fact that technology is not taking over and getting rid of jobs like we once thought- it’s actually creating them. (Kramer, 2015) However, as Kramer mentions, the study also contains records of some dramatic losses in jobs in certain sectors as well. Jobs lost in labor, manufacturing, typing, agriculture and even secretarial positions are experiencing major losses. Agriculture went from being a force of nearly one million in 1871 to 50,000. Likewise, laundry workers went from being 175,000 in number in 1871 also dropped down to 50,000. However, Deloitte’s study shows the increase in educational support assistants, nursing, home care and even bars, salons and the tech industry have seen a rise to their payrolls. This clearly offsets and compensates for the amount of jobs lost. (Allen, 2015)

Similarly in the article “The Future at Work - Trend and Implications” (2014), the RAND Corporation equates growing technological change with more jobs. Rather than losing out jobs to a machine, the article says that creating more and more advanced forms of technology will come with a greater responsibility. More sophisticated technology will require a higher level of skill to use them, and there will be workers needed for that. However, along with being a blessing- technology is often seen as a curse with many “revenge effects” according to Alfred. A. Knopf. Although his source is severely outdated, being made in 1996, it still contains information very relevant today about the unintended consequences of technological innovations. In the office cubicles, carpal tunnel syndrome is a rampant problem, along with eye-strain, bad posture and joint stiffness. Also, repairing technology is expensive enough to drain the savings downsizing employees generates.

Technology also has an increasingly adverse effect on privacy in the workplace, with employees becoming suspicious to the extent of surveillance the workplace has on their emails, phone calls and behaviour. (Hamlett 2016) Going back to the carpal tunnel syndrome issue due to long hours behind the screen- emails, cellphones and pagers have been keeping employees at work much longer than usual. This has caused an increase in stress levels, and a lot of workers claim that the lines between home and workplace have been blurred because of the amount of time they spend at work.

Lastly while emailing and paging allows a convenient way for the employee to get in touch with a client, it is making people in the workplace more and more impatient. Chit chat and deals would be made over water coolers, with both workers or clients expecting to wait weeks before getting an answer to their concerns. However, with technology these days even waiting ten minutes between replies to emails or text messages leads to agitation (Hamlett 2016).

All in all, technology continues to steadily change the way the workplace operates both for the better and worse. It all depends on where one works and what technology is available to them.

References

Allen, K. (2015). Technology has created more jobs than it has destroyed, says 140 years of data. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/aug/17/technology-created-more-jobs-than-destroyed-140-years-data-census

Hamlett, C. The Adverse Effects of Technology in the Workplace. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/adverse-effects-technology-workplace-22649.html

Karoly, A. L., & Panis W.A. C. (2004). The Future at Work - Trends and Implications. Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB5070/index1.html

Knopf, A. A. Why Things Bite Back: Technology & The Revenge of Unintended Consequences by Edward Tanner. Retrieved from http://ethixbiz.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Tenner-E.-Why-Things-Bite-Back.pdf

Kramer, J. (2015). Good News: Your Job Is Safe From Robots, Probably. Retrieved from http://www.glamour.com/story/robots-take-your-job

Pickett, T. D. (2015). THE INTERNET OF EVERYTHING WILL IMPACT EVERYTHING INCLUDING YOUR NEXT TECH JOB. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/insights/2015/02/internet-of-everything-your-next-tech-job/