Impact of ICT on Employment

ICT for the better or for the worse has become a huge and integral part of our life , it is a topic which has always been a classical debate of whether its a boon or a bane . ICT has taken the employment sector by storm, in some sectors it has caused massive job cuts and unemployment while in some sectors has opened a new window of opportunities for the young generation. This article tries to put a little light on the most debated question THE IMPACT OF ICT ON EMPLOYMENT ?

                                                                     IMPACT OF ICT ON EMPLOYMENT

The four main areas ICT had an effect on employment include Manufacturing, Shop work, Banking, Office work.
ICT had both positive and negative effects on employment.

Impact of ICT

POSITIVE EFFECTS OF ICT ON EMPLOYMENT

·         Fewer people needed to complete the same amount of work.

·         Increased number of people working from home using IT equipment.

·         More automation in factories due to the introduction of robots – assembling, packing, welding, painting, etc.

·         More availability of part-time works as many organization needs to be staffed 24/7.

·         More variation in tasks undertaken and staff need to be flexible and well trained to cope with this.

·         Fewer ‘real’ meetings as ‘video conferencing’ is used to reduce travel time and travel costs.

·         Increase in the number of technical staff needed such as network engineers, programmers, web designers, etc.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF ICT ON EMPLOYMENT

·         Many jobs, where number of people employed have been reduced due to introduction of robots/automation.

·         Many manual repetitive jobs such as paint spraying, welding, packing goods, assembly work in work have been replaced by
           robots.

·         Continual need for training as IT systems change.

Man created the machine which in turn replaced him

INCREASE IN EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES:

There are many new job opportunities created due to the introduction of ICT:

·         Network managers/Administrators – these are the people who keep the networks running for all the users and see to the taking of             back up copies.

·         Website designers – these are the people who design and create websites for others, as well as keep them up-to-date.

·         Development staff – these include system analysts and programmers who develop software programs.

·         Increase in the number of delivery staff – as more goods are bought online.

·         Increased demand for programmers – programs are required as more tasks are performed by computers.

New fields of employment

CHANGES IN THE WORKING PATTERN

ICT has brought many changes in the working pattern within the organisation.

they are:

1.      Part-Time working

2.      Flexible hours

3.      Job sharing

4.      Compressed hours.

5.      Part-time working

Part-time Working

Part-time working is working fewer hours per week or fewer days per week than a full-time staff.

Flexible Hours

Any working schedule outside the traditional working pattern. It is the ability to choose the start and finish time, but they must complete a full day’s work.

Job Sharing

With job sharing a full time job is divided among two part-time workers.
Eg: one can work in the morning and the other in the afternoon.
Or, one could work on Monday to Wednesday lunch time and the other from Wednesday lunch time to Friday.

Compressed Hours

An employee work their full hours for the week, but works for fewer days.
Eg: they may complete their 40 hours in four days rather than the normal five days.