Robots and the Evolving Workplace
No prediction would have prepared the world for the hit it got in 2020: when a lockdown ensued. With the US seeing a spike in unemployment rate, which rose up to 15% in the month of May 2020 alone; however, in November, the number edged down to 6.5%. Although the unemployment curve is being flattened, it still doesn’t quell the fear of future job loss. If there is anything Covid 19 thought the world, it is the fact that some jobs can be carried out effectively with AI and robots. So where does this place the common man whose duty it previously was to carry out these jobs?
Before we draw any conclusion, let’s take a trip down history lane. In the 18th century, the agrarian society the world had come to know was transformed by inventions and the introduction of the industrial revolution. This led to the loss of jobs as manpower were replaced with machines. However, that era saw tremendous growth and improvement as jobs became more effective and production time increased. Unlike in the industrial revolution, automation was restricted to G-7 nations, it is spreading to developing nations now and fear for the global loss of jobs is on the increase.
The industrial era created a shift in the work sector with blacksmiths losing their jobs to automobiles and certain jobs getting eliminated. It also created a shift as each new technological advancements creates a new job for those that were eliminated. For instance, with the introduction of emails, there was a reduction in the demand for document delivery. However, where carriers such as FedEx, UPS, and the United States Postal Service have lost the active usage of their mail delivery services, they have gained an increase in the demand for package delivery services thanks to websites like eBay and Amazon.
How to Tackle Losing Your Job to a Robot
Eventually, job description changes and you would have to adjust to it. While some jobs may experience little invasion from the technological world, several jobs are becoming threatened each day with the emergence of new Artificial Intelligence and robotics that will likely eliminate these jobs or modify them. For jobs that require general cognitive skills such as critical thinking and socio-behavioural skills such as recognising and managing and emotions within a team, it will be difficult to get a robot to do these jobs. On the other hand, jobs such as Data Entry Keyers, they have a 99% chance of getting replaced by robots according to data from willrobotstakemyjob.com.
So, how can you protect your job from robots? Let’s take a cue from Dorothy Vaughan. The movie Hidden Figures was a pictorial representation of history and how women in the 1950s were able to keep computers from taking their jobs away. As the supervisor in charge of the West computing unit for black women, Dorothy Vaughan knew that with the introduction of the IBM computer to NASA, the human computers would likely lose their jobs and so, she reinvented herself.
Now to answer the question of what to do so as not to lose one’s job to AI and robots. It is important to note that robots are not necessarily taking your jobs, but job descriptions are changing. The first point of action is to upskill yourself and get the necessary skills needed to survive in the changing job scene. The workplace is evolving and staying stagnant will cost you a lot. For instance, a decade ago, nobody needed a blockchain engineer; today this job description is in high demand. Also, those with none technical skills can focus on acquiring skills that machines can not replicate such as socio-emotional skills to protect their jobs.
Conclusion
The era of the fourth industrial revolution may look like the era where robots will take over, but it isn’t. This is because machines will still be created and managed by man. Therefore, there will always be a job for humans. So while job descriptions and the workplace are evolving, you must be willing and ready to evolve and reinvent yourself or get kicked out of the equation of things. You can also check how susceptible your job may likely be to AI and robots on https://willrobotstakemyjob.com.
