As regular readers of mine will attest, I have long been extremely skeptical of the claims that robots will be destroying jobs en masse. The data has largely born that skepticism out, with the pandemic seeing rising investment in technologies such as AI alongside extremely low levels of unemployment.
That isn’t to say, of course, that such investments aren’t changing work, either in the sense of what humans can provide in the workplace or what the workplace should be providing humans. This is very much reinforced by a recent report from Bain, which outlines how the world of work is changing.
“Much of the prevailing thinking about the relationship between workers and firms was forged in a very different world than the one we live in today, where workers were viewed simply as factors of production in the machine of enterprise,” the report says. “Today’s firm requires a new mental model, one that rehumanizes the way we think about work.”
Rehumanizing work
The report, which was compiled after surveying 20,000 workers from 10 countries, suggests there are 5 key changes that managers need to be aware of. For instance, the authors argue that our motivations for work are changing, with many of us explicitly desiring a better work-life balance.
This is part of a long-held trend towards working fewer hours. While it’s almost certainly too soon to say whether 4-day weeks or a shorter working life are likely to prevail, what does appear evident is that we increasingly “want” the boundaries between work and life to blur, and for work, therefore, to be an active and positive part of our lives.
This is reflected in our perceptions of what a “good” job looks like. Here, Bain suggests that there is little real convergence, with six types of worker identified, each with unique requirements.
“Business leaders need to recognize that their personal perspective
of what a good job looks like won’t necessarily be shared by everyone in their organization, especially those on the front lines,” the authors explain.
Hard to automate
While technology hasn’t destroyed jobs, it has nonetheless changed them considerably. For instance, technology has allowed for the enormous rise in low- and no-code developers who lack the awareness of programming languages that is normally associated with software development, but who can nonetheless develop tools with the help of modern software.
As technology continues to improve, the demand for digital literacy will continue to be high so that humans can effectively work alongside and with technologies that are changing the very nature of work.
There will also undoubtedly be areas that are harder to apply technology in, and the report highlights many areas that have long suffered from Baumol’s cost disease, such as in healthcare and social services, where work is still very much powered by humans.
As I’ve mentioned numerous times before, arguably the biggest challenge will be to help people transition from declining professions to those with better prospects. This is traditionally an area societies have struggled with so we will need to improve if the disruptions caused by previous transitions are to be avoided.
New work contracts
The blurring of boundaries between work and personal lives is also reflected in the rise of gig-related work. With the pandemic lifting the lid on the effectiveness of remote working, many employers are likely to significantly increase their gig-based workforce as they strive to tap into the global talent pool such an approach makes at their disposal.
While for many this is a boon, especially more highly-skilled workers, there is understandable concern that lower-skilled workers will lose out significantly from this more flexible approach, especially if it also erodes any collective bargaining power they may have enjoyed.
While for many this is a boon, especially more highly-skilled workers, there is understandable concern that lower-skilled workers will lose out significantly from this more flexible approach, especially if it also erodes any collective bargaining power they may have enjoyed.
This is reflected in the 5th trend, which highlights how young workers today are incredibly stressed, due to the unique challenges posed by the Covid recession, rising inequality, and the declining affordability of housing.
Of course, just as the pandemic has exacerbated existing trends, none of the trends identified in the report are particularly new either. Indeed, I’ve written about many of them previously, but as with so much in life, it can be useful to pool things together and repeat them until they’re absorbed. Hopefully the report will contribute towards doing just that.
