Demand for technical specialties is strong
Most U.S. employees see themselves working with technology rather than being replaced by it, according to a recent survey on the future of work by data and analytics company GlobalData. Here are three findings from the survey:
• Technology will support U.S. workers rather than replace them. Respondents say only part of their job can be performed by machines.
• 79% of U.S. workers say technology will change the way they do their job over the next three years.
• 37% of respondents think artificial intelligence (AI) will impact their job over the next three years. Four out of five U.S. workers believe technology will change the way they do their job over the next three years, as they see themselves working alongside technology, rather than being replaced by it, according to GlobalData.
The majority of U.S. employees surveyed confirmed that in most of their jobs, technology can do some, but not all, of the work. Contrary to popular belief, this suggests that the future of work will see technology augment workers, rather than replace them.
Some 37% of U.S. respondents chose AI when asked what technologies they thought would change the way they do their job over the next three years.
Cyrus Mewawalla, GlobalData’s head of thematic research, said: “Technology is increasingly being used to augment people’s jobs by handling the more repetitive job functions, giving employees time to tackle the more complex or judgment-based parts of their role. That, perhaps, explains why people are more optimistic than pessimistic about the future.”
Only 21% of respondents said they were worried about their future employment, and only 23% believe that between 81% and 100% of their job could be performed by technology.
Looking ahead, the employment of computer and information research scientists, computer support specialists, database administrators, information security analysts, and software developers are projected to grow 15%, 8%, 10%, 31%, and 22%, respectively, from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Mewawalla also said that technologies other than AI are also changing the way people do their jobs. They include collaboration tools such as Zoom, Slack, Teams, Skype and Trello; robotic process automation (RPA); wearable tech; and augmented reality. Collaboration tools were identified by 25% of respondents as having the capability to change their job, while 21% named RPA, which is used to automate transactional back-office processes, as a technology that will impact their job.
Summing up, Mewawalla added that “The future of work is a key theme for
U.S. businesses and these poll findings reflect how peoples’ working future is being created and enabled by technology — both in the short term, post COVID-19 and long term.”
Over the last five months of the COVID-19 crisis, it is the use of technologies such as collaboration tools and cloud computing that has helped people keep working and enabled their companies to stay afloat.
The majority of U.S. employees surveyed confirmed that in most of their jobs, technology can do some, but not all, of the work. Contrary to popular belief, this suggests that the future of work will see technology augment workers, rather than replace them.