Millennials conflicted about automation

As automation in the workplace rapidly becomes a force to be reckoned with, millennials are taking notice, according to a recent Deloitte Global study.

In work environments that are increasingly shaped by technology, automation has the potential to both limit job availability and improve workforce productivity and flexibility. Millennial employees are already feeling the impact. Given their growing preference for job stability—but not at the expense of a flexible work environment—it is perhaps unsurprising that millennials are ambivalent about workplace automation.

Despite their anxiety about economic, social, and political threats as well as their personal prospects, most of this group remains optimistic about businesses in general, according to The Deloitte 2017 Millennial Survey. This group recognises the benefits of automation in terms of productivity and economic growth and sees its potential to offer opportunities for creativity and skill development. Moreover, they regard automation as a means to increase their influence within organisations - more than 50 % of respondents saw automation as an opportunity for increased overall productivity, economic growth and flexibility at work.

Yet millennials are not unaware of automation’s possible downsides. 40 % of those surveyed think automation will threaten their jobs; 44 % believe there will be less demand for their skills. In addition, a majority (51 %) believe they will have to retrain, while 53 % see the workplace becoming more impersonal.

Closer analysis of the data shows that millennials who are heavy users of social media are less threatened by automation than their peers. They recognise the potential for workplace automation to support more creative and expanded roles. Only 15 % of this group believes automation will reduce the number of jobs available to people like them; 64 % think it will create more jobs. In contrast, those using relatively little digital communication and social media are three times more likely to predict a reduction (45 %) rather than an increase (15 %) in available jobs.

To some extent, survey respondents’ outlook on automation appears to depend on the degree to which it is already used in their industries. At least half of those in technology, media, and telecommunications (60 %); manufacturing (55 %); financial services (54 %); and energy and resources (50 %) say their employers have done a “great deal or a fair amount” to reduce human involvement in certain tasks via automation, robotics, or artificial intelligence. Millennials who work in these sectors are less concerned about the potential threat to jobs than survey respondents from other sectors.

On the other hand, less than half of those employed in transport and distribution (47 %); life sciences (44 %); travel, hospitality, and leisure (43 %); and retail (42 %) say their employers have done a “great deal or a fair amount” of work implementing automation. Respondents in these industries tend to be more concerned about the negative impact of automation on their job prospects. Perhaps those in sectors that have not adopted automation to a wider degree feel more threatened because they have not experienced its benefits.

Finally, although there is not a strong correlation, many millennials who predict automation will create opportunities for personal development work in the sectors—including technology, media, and telecommunications; financial services; and manufacturing—where job losses from automation are expected to be lowest.

***** As CIOs eye opportunities to automate processes in IT and throughout the business, millennials’ conflicted views on automation may aid in shaping education and retraining programs that help employees expand their knowledge and skill sets in response to automation. CIOs may want to underscore automation’s potential to create personal development opportunities and increase business stability by improving overall business productivity and growth. They can also consider enlisting millennials with more positive views of automation to reassure their more skeptical colleagues. For more information, please visit www.deloitte.com/mt/millennialsurvey