Report Chapter 6: Work
____________________
Units
Changes and Fears,
Impacts on Employment
Employee Communication and Monitoring
Changes
Computers free us from the repetitious, boring aspects of jobs so that we can
spend more time being creative and doing the tasks that require human
intelligence. Computer systems and the Internet provide quick, reliable access to
information so that we work smarter and more efficiently. But people still do
the work. Nurses care for the elderly, and construction workers build buildings.
Architects use computer-aided design systems, but they still design buildings.
Accountants use spreadsheets and thus have more time for thinking, planning,
and analysis.
Fears,
The introduction of computers into the workplace generated many fears. Many
social critics, social scientists, politicians, unions, and activists saw virtually all
potential effects of computers on work as highly threatening. They foresaw
mass unemployment due to increased efficiency. (Some argued, at first, that
money spent on computers was a waste because computers decreased
efficiency.) They argued that requiring workers to acquire computer skills was
too heavy a burden,
Impacts on Employment
Job Destruction
The fear that computing technology and the Internet would cause mass
unemployment might seem absurd now. Yet, since the beginning of the
Industrial Revolution, technology has generated fears of mass unemployment.
In the early 1800s, the Luddites burned weaving looms because they feared the
looms would eliminate their jobs. A few decades later, a mob of seamstresses
and tailors destroyed sewing machines because of the same fears
Changing Skills
Some who are concerned about the impact of computers on employment
acknowledge that, in the past, technology led to new jobs and products. They
argue that the impact of computing technology is different.
Computer and communication technologies dramatically changed the way we
work and where we work. These technologies encourage smaller businesses and
more independent consultants and contractors—“information entrepreneurs,”
as they are sometimes called. It is easier for workers to work part time for
different employers or clients, thus encouraging more information workers to
become self-employed. Individuals and small businesses operate globally via the
Web.
