It’s all about to change in 2018!
It's all about to change in 2018!
Automation is absolutely changing the face of the workforce and it is going to accelerate exponentially in 2018. We are already seeing it in the retail and manufacturing industries. We can expect to see it in the transportation and logistics soon enough. Recent federal business tax breaks are going to be one of the greatest accelerants to this transformative period. However, not much thought has been given to what it means for the average worker in these industries.
We see the changes every day. Retail store closures are becoming a regular occurrence, including Toys R Us, Sam’s Club, Kmart, Target and many others. Some are being impacted by e-commerce giants like Amazon, but it is more than that. How many people do you know that order their everyday groceries online and swing by to pick them up on their way home or, better yet, have them delivered to their door? Check out the stores you frequent, and you may have noticed that where before they might have had a couple of self-checkout lanes; now self-checkout options outnumber the cashiers. This is not to mention the astronomical leaps and bounds that are being made by companies experimenting with completely automated stores and drone deliveries.
It has all started happening under our noses. You would see an article here and there about some new innovations, like successful runs of self-driving 18-wheeler deliveries, 2,500 sqft homes being built in days with a 3D printer and at a fraction of the cost, and employees working side-by-side with a leased robot on a production line. This has been a boon for corporations that have been pained with the struggles of finding enough qualified workers. These innovations allow them to wash their hands of the daily labor disputes, chronic late-comers, sexual harassment investigations, injuries, and payroll.
It is all about to change! In the arena of workforce development planning, the traditional approach has been to follow the data trends. In this scenario, the data will be challenged to paint the picture quickly enough. And I fear that so many will be caught completely by surprise. Many will wonder why, as the stock market and economy seem to be buzzing along, the unemployment and under-employment rate is going to start to rise in certain sectors, and while I foresee retail to be the most glaring in 2018, it will also be seen in manufacturing, transportation, and construction.
So where do we go from here? We are looking heavily at industries and the staffing patterns, such as cashiers and floor staff in the retail industry. Identifying the capacity to move individuals to other industries and occupations. Lower wage positions where workers live check-to-check afford little room to engage in full-time training upgrades. We need to look at opportunities in other industries that might be more insulated and where there is a high level of transferable skills to soften the blow, such as hospitality, where customers expending disposable income are more interested in face-to-face interaction and less impressed with companies saving money through innovation. But this will not be nearly enough.
There will be no single or simple answer to addressing the changing face of the labor market. Studies have begun around the world and even some limited experimentation to prepare for a post-labor economy. However, it still seems like some far-off in the future for most and still seems mostly theoretical. There has been little discussion about the transition period – what happens to these workers and their families in the short-term and over the next 18 months or 5, 10, and 15 years. Efforts to anticipate the changes and adapt quickly will be critical to the nation.
