Olivia Kisiel 11:00am ENGL 1102
Technological advancements have been occurring throughout history, and they alter the need for human labor in the workforce. If individuals are not keeping track of these workforce evolutions, they are at risk of losing their job to new technology. During times of large innovation (such as the industrial revolution/ modernist era) or times of high stress (such as the current COVID-19 pandemic) companies are under a lot of pressure to come up with solutions to issues that are prevalent in society. The Covid-19 Pandemic specifically has led to human labor being replaced by technology, and this is highly likely to be a permanent change to the workforce of Atlanta.
Covid-19 has created a high-pressure environment that has strained businesses and society as the balance between safety and the need for labor conflict. Many of us have seen the repercussions of this firsthand. From being sent home from school abruptly last March, no longer having my seasonal job, to sharing an office with my parents at home, I saw the interplay between health concerns and new technology, as many others have.
With the safety and health of workers at high risk during the pandemic, companies must implement other sources of labor to keep from going out of business. Technology being implemented into the workforce is companies’ effort to limit contact between people, to avoid spreading coronavirus in essential businesses, and it is predicted that these implementations will be permanent due to the benefits.
Why does this matter? As we graduate college, and have loved ones in the workforce, it is important to stay informed about how the interplay between technology and the human workforce shift, to make sure our jobs are not in jeopardy.
Though technology can leave people scrambling to adjust to changes in the workforce, it can be extremely beneficial, especially in trying to keep people safe during the pandemic, in large cities such as Atlanta. Replacing human labor with technological advancements allows businesses to save money, run more efficiently, and stop the spread of coronavirus.
An example of this new technology taking over human labor is at the company Savioke. The Savioke bot that can be seen below is used in a variety of environments in place of service members (such as room service in hotels or healthcare workers in hospitals. A company’s bot might roll down the hall to deliver towels and toothbrushes, or medical supplies to health care professionals, all while limiting human contact. The bot is safer and more efficient which is why it is being implemented during the pandemic as an alternative to human labor. Essential businesses in Atlanta find themselves gravitating from human labor to technological labor such as the Savioke bot during the pandemic to increase efficiency and safety. It is unlikely that after purchasing a bot (even if it is a safety precaution during the pandemic) to go back to human labor for the same tasks because the bot does not have any additional cost (minus the initial purchase cost).
Another example of a dynamic part of the workforce that have had major changes in the city of Atlanta are assembly line. Assembly lines are an area of the workforce that has been altered throughout history and are a group of workers that is at high risk of losing their jobs, so it is important to analyze the changes that have and continue to occur in this area of the workforce, as they offer insight that is applicable to other areas of the workforce.
Looking at the modernist images from the industrial revolution helps to convey how much the assembly lines changed the way things were produced. Looking at the first photo, we can see that back before the industrial revolution individual women were paid to sew from home, but when factories opened and became more efficient, they migrated to the city to work. This new method allowed for many more women to be working on a project, and with the new technology they were able to work more efficiently. This new method of working in the factory did not end when the industrial revolution did. Instead, it was built upon and resulted in the systems we have today, just as the new technology in the assembly line workforce will be implemented permanently and be built upon in the future.
Assembly lines are not an easy place to practice social distancing, and people in these jobs cannot work from home, so a solution to keep production running had to be developed. In many assembly lines, such as the ones in Atlanta, this solution was replacing human workers in assembly lines with technology, and more than likely, this will be a permanent loss of jobs in the city of Atlanta.
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way individuals interact and view the world around them. From masks being a part of our daily outfits, to the zoom environment so many activities have been subjected to, it is impossible to live the same way as before the pandemic. However, many of these changes do not seem to be completely permanent. Eventually we will be able to go back to in person activities and be able to show our smiles without masks, but getting the jobs back that people have lost? That is not a given, or likely occurrence. Many of these job losses are due to technology being a safer alternative, but they are also much more efficient than human labor, and therefore companies will continue gravitate more towards technology versus human labor.
Jobs that were replaced by technology are not likely to be preformed by human labor ever again, which means that people who performed these services must migrate to different areas of the workforce, which is not always as easy as filling out an application and going to an interview. Getting a new job can mean going back to school or getting re-trained, and this requires time and money that people may not have. This is going to have a huge effect on residents in the city of Atlanta. Primarily low-income earners are going to be displaced from their jobs, and either must receive training, or enter another job that is at high risk of being replaced by technology in the future. For the 50% of people in the city of Atlanta without a college degree, this could be extremely problematic as they will have to fight for the jobs that do not require one. For many large cities this is going to be a problem. For high-wage workers it is often easier to work from home, be more socially distanced, or find another job than it is for low wage workers, so it is important to be aware and plan in case jobs that seemed “safe” from being replaced are not always around. Going forward it is extremely important to keep these shifts in the work force in mind as they affect not only the Atlanta residents, but everyone in, or entering the workforce.
As our society changes rapidly due to the Covid-19 pandemic it is not surprising that the workforce is undergoing changes. The fact that these changes are likely to be permanent is not surprising either. During times of large innovation, such as the industrial revolution, or times of high pressure, such as the current Covid-19 pandemic, technology shapes the world around us, and these changes are long lasting. When these periods of large-scale change are present, it is important to stay informed and educated to make sure we are not the ones who lose out due to these new innovations.
Works cited:
“Millions Of Americans Have Lost Jobs In The Pandemic — And Robots And AI Are Replacing Them Faster Than Ever”. Time, 2021, https://time.com/5876604/machines-jobs-coronavirus/.
“Robots On The Rise As Americans Experience Record Job Losses Amid Pandemic”. The Guardian, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/nov/27/robots-replacing-jobs-automation-unemployment-us.
“The Demographic Statistical Atlas Of The United States – Statistical Atlas”. Statisticalatlas.Com, 2021, https://statisticalatlas.com/place/Georgia/Atlanta/Educational-Attainment.
“Latest World & National News & Headlines – USATODAY.Com”. USA TODAY, 2021, https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2021/02/17/unemployment-coronavirus-cities-lose-jobs-suburbs-gain-during-covid/67601.
The topic you addressed in this artifact pertains to our generation more than ever. I think the pandemic has clearly pushed a transition in how technology affects the job market. This will be interesting as we will be joining the post-pandemic workforce. How we will be affected by this is still up in the air, but it is still something that we should all consider. I like how you were able to tie it into how the industrial revolution affected the modernist era. This was an intriguing post, and I’m now more aware on the influence of technology on the workforce.