Surviving and Thriving in Our Brave New World

Source: CumminsR, CC 3.0

Company A lives up to its slogans: “People are our most important product!” “People over profits!” As much as possible, Company A uses people rather than machines and avoids layoffs even if it lowers profits. Company A accepts the costs: not only salary and benefits, including ObamaCare, but also employee rights: for example, meeting OSHA and EPA requirements, diversity/inclusion and sexual harassment training and ready-response, and responding to employee lawsuits claiming discrimination. And Company A lets its prioritizing of people outweigh the fact that computers don’t need onboarding; they show up and work 24/7/365 without complaint and without even a bathroom break, never steal from the employer, never fight with a coworker, and never insist—on threat of an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit—that they retain their job despite a physical or mental illness that forces co-workers to pick up their slack.

Company B behaves in the opposite way. It automates as much as possible, because it ensures that customers can get their products and services as inexpensively as possible. So the employees are more likely to keep their jobs, and the company’s investors — yes people like you and me — are more likely to afford a home, pay for their kids’ college education, and retire without running out of money.

Be honest with yourself. If you were running an organization, would you be more like Company A or B? Many people wish they could be like A, but to thrive or even survive, end up being like B. Of course, that’s what most companies and nonprofits are doing. Updating previous studies — for example, Oxford's iconic one in 2016 that predicted that in the next 25 years, 47 percent of jobs will be lost to automation — a just-published Brookings study finds that almost 40 percent of jobs are vulnerable to automation and artificial intelligence. And many of the remaining jobs will require ever higher-level reasoning, technical, and/or people skills. The scarcity of such people locally will contribute to employers increasingly searching nationally and internationally rather than relying just on local talent.

Unlike in previous eras, in our ever more information- and technology-centric times, there just won’t be enough sustainably paying jobs that aren't so demanding. So, higher un- and underemployment is likely.

The currently low U.S. unemployment rate is artificially low, the result of protectionist policies that, long-term, will decrease employment, as U.S. companies are unable to compete with other countries’ firms, which can hire the best people worldwide. Even if successful companies and the small percentage of individuals who make big money were taxed at 90 percent, there wouldn’t be enough money to support the masses, even at a basic humane level: for example, with Universal Basic Income or with taxpayer-paid government jobs, like those in Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Work Projects Administration.

There may be little that society can do to stop this short of a worldwide restriction on automation, which would bring many other problems, for example, the inability of people in developing nations to afford a cell phone, their primary way to get information, to communicate, and be entertained.

But Psychology Today is about helping you to live a better life, and if we keep our sights there, there are answers.

If you''re a “people person” and qualitatively analytical as are many Psychology Today readers, recognize that bits and bytes are lousy at judgment, especially in person-to-person interaction. You’re not. Build on your qualitative problem-solving skills by practicing, getting feedback, and taking classes on problem solving within your content domain. Too, build on your people-person strengths: Further develop your skills in communication and conflict resolution — When you’ve had an unsuccessful interaction, think about why, getting feedback if needed. Learn the art of running meetings—See Are You Excellent at Running a Meeting? Becoming a good public speaker would also be a plus—See Good Public Speaking Without Fear.

If you’re technically oriented, obviously that’s helpful. Recognize that getting and staying technologically current is central to your continued employability. The good news is that today, there are more and better ways to learn. In addition to traditional universities, there are user-reviewed tutors (e.g., at Wyzant.com), online one-shot classes, and longer courses. Perhaps today's most popular course, with 2.3 million students and a 4.9 average course rating, is Stanford’s Andrew Ng’s online, open-admission course on machine learning — and it costs just $80!

Of course, the most potent job security accrues from being competent both technically and interpersonally, with expertise in a specific domain. That could, for example, be a niche within psychology: learning, addiction, depression, the genetics of intelligence, whatever.

The takeaway

When you hear, “The Robots Are Coming, the Robots Are Coming!” it’s easy to be scared. The question is, can you channel the fear into the aforementioned actions, which maximize your chances, in the upcoming world, of thriving.