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Widspread use of ICT has affected the way people work and has reshaped our present workplaces. Some of the effects are:
Unemployment
- The introduction of computers made many jobs outdated.
- For example typists were replaced by people who could use a computer to word process documents. These documents could be saved to disc and recalled whenever needed instead of being re-types.
- Some routine (boring) jobs were replaced by automatic machines controlled by computers. Or we find that a person employed to record variables on a production line is no longer needed as either the operators enter these via a keyboard OR a remote data logging system records them.
- Some very dangerous jobs where conditions were unpleasant were replaced by robot-type machines making the work much safer. The system parameters of a chemical plant are far easier to control using a computer than human operator. Heavy Chemicals has seen an 80% reduction in workforce over the last 20 years.
New jobs created
- New skills are needed to use the computer software and hardware. More operators are needed to process the increase in trunover generated by quick and easy access to applications.
- Programmers to write the instructions to make the computers work.
- Engineers to build the automatic machines.
- Systems analysts to design business software systems etc.
- People working at a drawing board may no longer be needed - but people who can use CAD programs are in huge demand - one local firm had to recruit from other parts of Europe because there were very few people in Britain with the high-tech skills they were looking for.
ICT has lead to a rise in demand for IT professionals
Working hours
- Some people may work less hours as a result of automation and the introduction of IT into the workplace.
Retraining
- The switch to computerised systems involves considerable retraining and means that a modern society needs to have a more flexible workforce. The rapid advances mean individuals may have to retrain for employment several times during their working lives.
More leisure time
- As a result of the drop in working hours for some people - however some of this leisure time is not by choice - it is because of unemployment or because they can only find part-time or casual work.
De-skilling of jobs
- Some jobs which were highly regarded in the past have lost their value because computers have take a lot of the skill out of them - for example a checkout operator at a supermarket now has to simply pass each item across a bar-code reader - all the processing of the information is carried out automatically and the change to be given to the customer is calculated. Skilled machinists now find that the computer, once “taught” is able to produce consistently better products.
