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The Impact of Technology on the Workforce

Shoundell Rigby

Southern New Hampshire University

ENG-123-H7984 English Composition II

Melodie Rodgers

April 14, 2023

The Impact of Technology on the Workforce

Considering the fast evolution of technology, the impact of the changes in question on the

workforce constitutes a weighty topic of concern. People are increasingly worried that the

emergence of technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence will take jobs and render

human employees redundant or obsolete. However, while some argue that technology will lead

to mass unemployment, it is imperative not to overlook the potential of these advancement in the

creation of new jobs and opportunities. In essence, technology will not necessarily take people’s

jobs if they learn to evolve with it and adapt to the ever-changing work environment. Arguably,

technological advancements create new jobs and present new opportunities especially to

individuals who are willing to adapt and upskill in order to fit into the dynamic contemporary

work environment.

Foremost, as opposed to beliefs about technology rendering people unemployed, the

advancements in question actually create new employment and career advancement

opportunities. It is crucial to note that technological advancements come with new application

areas as well as sectors that can provide employment and professional development to the right

set of candidates. In a study by Bessen (2019), the findings indicate that that automation has

often resulted in the creation of new job roles in industries that have been affected by the

adoption of new technologies. For example, the emergence of new technologies in the banking

industry has generated new job roles including data analysts, digital marketing experts as well as

cybersecurity professionals among others.

A variety of other studies also support the capacity of automation in the creation of career

opportunities. In this case, whereas automation may take over some roles, it opens up other roles
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that require human intervention. Also, as opposed to replacing people, technology is simply

changing the way work is done. For example, findings from some studies show that robots can

be used to perform repetitive and mundane tasks thus freeing up employees to focus on more

creative and fulfilling aspects of their jobs (Fleming, 2019). In this case, technological

advancements effectively create new roles that are more interesting, challenging and fulfilling for

workers. As such, the idea that automation replaces people in the workplace is not entirely

accurate given the variety of opportunities that people can take advantage of in the automated or

digitized workplaces.

In addition, Acemoglu and Restrepo (2019) note that automation continues to facilitate

the flexible allocation of tasks thus boosting productivity. The authors refer to this as the

productivity effect which increases demand for labor in tasks that are not. It is also worth noting

that technology’s history has not been about displacing human labor because if this were the

case, people would be confined to a diminishing section of old jobs and tasks. Instead of a

declining labor share, the potential implications of automation have been counterbalanced by the

creation of new and broader tasks (Acemoglu & Restrepo, 2019). These findings and

observations reiterate the need to view technological advancements are opportunities as opposed

to obstacles to human progress.

Another crucial point to take note of is the need for people to actively take up the

opportunities that come with technological advancements. Whereas it is true that technology

creates new job positions and opportunities, those who fail to position themselves to benefit from

these prospects are likely to fall victim to unemployment. However, it is imperative to note that

these people would not have lost their jobs because technology replaced them but because they

failed to position themselves appropriately. In simpler terms, the potential for technology to
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create new jobs and opportunities is considerably dependent on the workforce’s willingness to

adapt and upskill or actively seek new skills.

The acquisition of new skills becomes imperative as technology continues to evolve.

People can only benefit from the changes if they possess the skills necessary to operate in more

advanced work environments. For example, Bessen (2019) notes that the emergence of new

technologies in the healthcare industry has created new job roles like telemedicine specialists and

health information managers. In this case, those who fail to upskill may still be dependent on

traditional approaches such as the use of paper-based approaches to health information

management. These individuals are at an elevated risk of losing their jobs. Based on the

aforementioned findings, people should focus on upskilling in order to effectively take advantage

of the new opportunities presented by technological advancements in various sectors. People can

keep their jobs and get even better opportunities if they have the right set of skills.

Finally, technology plays an instrumental role in enhancing efficiency, productivity and

profitability. As noted earlier, technology makes automated processes possible. One way of

looking at this is merely concluding that the people who used to do the now automated

processes, would definitely lose their jobs. However, this could not be further from reality. In

reality, redundant roles can be automated thus providing people with the opportunity to advance

their professional knowledge and skills by redirecting their effort to more creative and complex

tasks that require human effort. Advancements in the manufacturing sector constitute a credible

example. As Bessen (2019) explains, the introduction of automated processes in manufacturing

has facilitated a decrease in costs and in turn increased production output. The employees can

thus focus on other complex manufacturing operations and seek new skills in other areas

including organizational leadership as well as research and development among others.

However, in spite of the positive workplace prospects linked to technological

advancements, the counterargument that technology is likely to cause mass unemployment

should not be overlooked. Based on the opposing argument, advancements in areas such as

robotics and extensive automation will eliminate the need for human effort. In this case, the fact

that machines can operate more efficiently and effectively suggests that organizations would cut

down on the number of workers thus causing mass unemployment. Some parties contend that the

rise of the big data era makes it increasingly difficult for organizations to rely on human labor

given the extensive amount of information needed to complete some tasks (Moll &

Yigitbasioglu, 2019). Therefore, if technology can perform tasks more efficiently, organizations

are less likely to depend on human labor.

The noted opposing argument has some merit given that some positions may be rendered

obsolete as technology takes over more roles. However, the argument overlooks the other

positions created by the adoption of technology. As aforementioned, people can take advantage

of the new opportunities to upskill and enhance their professional competencies in order to fit in

the new digitized workplace as opposed to relying on old skills even as the workplace changes

dramatically.

Further, the counterargument overlooks the fact that technology requires human

intervention in order to be properly integrated in the workplace. The development process also

requires human intervention because the technological revolution is driven by people who have

taken the initiative to pursue new opportunities created by the advanced contemporary world. For

instance, people are needed in the process of designing, building, programing and maintaining

new technologies. These requirements thus constitute viable job opportunities available across

multiple industries. All people need to do is acquire the right set of skills and identify their niche
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in the digital world. In essence, the argument that technology is likely to result in mass

unemployment raises a critical point. However, this argument is overly simplistic given that it

fails to consider the multifaceted nature of technological adoption at the workplace characterized

by the creation of new positions and opportunities for upskilling.

In conclusion, while a significant section of society contends that technology will result

in mass unemployment, it is crucial to consider the potential for these advancements to create

new jobs and opportunities. This would especially be the case for individuals who are willing to

upskill and adapt to the dynamic work environment created by the advancements in question.

Findings from various studies show that automation has often resulted in the creation of new job

roles in industries that have adopted new technologies. The common assumption that such

adoptions result in job losses often overlooks the new positions created as a result of the

integration of technology in the workplace.

In essence, technological advancements create new roles in various industries. These

roles are relatively mor interesting, challenging and fulfilling for workers. Therefore, the

automation of redundant or repetitive roles allows employees to focus on other complex tasks

thus expanding their skillset and professional experience. However, it is critical to note that the

success of these prospects is considerably dependent on the workforce’s willingness to adapt and

upskill. In the end, technological advancement does not necessarily replace the human

workforce. The people at the greatest risk of losing their jobs are those who fail to keep up with

the exponentially evolving workplace environment by continuously upskilling in order to take up

emerging opportunities.
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References

Bessen, J. (2019). Automation and jobs: When technology boosts employment. Economic

Policy, 34(100), 589-626.

Fleming, P. (2019). Robots and organization studies: Why robots might not want to steal your

job. Organization Studies, 40(1), 23-38.

Acemoglu, D., & Restrepo, P. (2019). Automation and new tasks: How technology displaces and

reinstates labor. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 33(2), 3-30.

Moll, J., & Yigitbasioglu, O. (2019). The role of internet-related technologies in shaping the

work of accountants: New directions for accounting research. The British Accounting

Review, 51(6), 100833.