Work or Leisure forced by technology
We all wish that we should get shorter work-week. So that we have to work less days and get more leisure time but that might come as reality very soon. Not sure if we should rejoice or we need to reject this idea.
In 1870 an average American worker used to clock up to 75 hrs a week. Just prior to WWII it had fallen to about 42 per week and it was similar in other advanced countries. The reduce working hours helped the workers in enjoying their leisure time. As innovation was a reason for the increase in their rates of pay.
There have been further reductions in the working hours which has been proposed as a possible solution to unemployment by economists including John R.Commons, Lord Keynes and Luigi Pasinetti. Once the working hours have been reduced to 40 hours a week, workers have been less enthusiastic about any further reductions in the same. In 2014 Google’s co-founder Larry Page, suggested a four-day work week, so as technology continues to displace jobs, more people can find employment.
Looking at the significance of the transition that is been taking place the distinguished Nobel Laureate economist Wasilley Leontief warned that the introduction of increasingly sophisticated computers, ‘’The role of humans as the most important factor of production is bound to diminish in the same way the role of horses in agricultural production was first diminished and then eliminated by the introduction of tractors. ‘’
Farming: The mechanical, biological and chemical revolutions in American agriculture over the past 100 years have left millions of farm labourers out of work. In 1850, 60 percent of the working population was employed in agriculture today less than 2.7 percent of workforce is engaged in direct farming. In the coming years due to agriculture software and robotics will lead to higher yields and fewer workers. Due to growing concerns over employing Palestinian migrant labourer, the Israeli’s have developed their own mechanical farm labourers. In a growing number of kibbutzes (a communal settlement in Israel, typically a farm) it is not unusual to see self-guided machines travelling on tracks laid out between rows of plants, spraying pesticides on crops. They are also experimenting with a Robotic Melon Picker (Romper) that uses special sensor to determine whether a crop is ripe to pick.
Automobile sector: Industry experts believe that by the end of the current decade the Japanese owned factories would be able to produce a finished car in less than 8 hours. The shortening of production time mean lesser workers are required online. Kenichi Ohmae, a leading Japanese management consultant, notes that Japan’s nine automakers produce more that 12 million cars a year, with fewer than 60,000 workers as compared to one of the Detroit automakers which employs 2.5 million workers to produce same number of cars. It is estimated that each robot replaces four jobs in economy, and if in constant use 24 hrs a day, will pay for itself in a year. Hence automakers are likely to substitute them for workers as they are most cost effective.
As per the above examples there are many more examples that can be given across various other sectors. However, a thought that needs to be put in place is how can we actually manage the displacement of employment taking place or what can we do to frame up certain policies for this expected or unexpected change in technology.
Please do mention your views in comments and let me know your suggestions on this blog or to improve these further.
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