We’ve all heard and been warned about the negative effects of job automation. The claim is business automation is having a net negative effect on jobs across the globe – which will eventually lead to the extinction of low-level jobs and significantly high unemployment. Couple that with a generation of baby boomers who aren’t ready to retire and it sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Benefits of Automation
Sounds pretty scary, doesn’t it? While these concerns have merit, there are many positives to automation, which go mostly unspoken. Yes, jobs have been and will continue to be displaced, but on the other hand, automation can make obsolete certain tasks and improve the efficiency which with people work. This is especially helpful for small businesses who can only afford to be minimally staffed.
Another benefit of automation is getting rid of monotonous and mentally exhausting tasks. For example, do you really want to be folding pizza boxes for 2000 hours every year? Anybody who has ever worked on an assembly line, speaking from experience, knows how painful it can be to do the same repetitive motion day in and day out with no end in sight (often leading to mental fatigue).
Having monotonous tasks can be unfulfilling, and although this may seem less daunting than taking on a bigger project, it can be detrimental to your employees’ health in the long run. If the job isn’t properly training their brain, teaching new things and exercising their mind, they will not be mentally healthy. If people are not mentally exercising on a regular basis, their brain loses its elasticity, making it harder to think well and efficiently.
Better Efficiency
The benefits of automation free up time and allow employees to get more creative with their skill sets and work. The more meaningful their work becomes, the more they can love their job. The more they love their job, the healthier, mentally, they can be. They can enjoy what they do and carry that into their personal lives. Therefore, this should be a part of a strategy for organizations.
Article written by Vaughn Pourchot
