Ellie ThompsonDigital migration is one of the most pronounced effects of the Covid-19 pandemic as businesses had to find alternative ways to operate. The pandemic-infused lockdown was meant to curb the spread of the virus and compelled that employees and company staff work remotely from their homes. This paved way for a technological revolution that has far outlived the cessation of movement protocol and became one of the topics covered by technology news today.
However, even in the face of the promise that technology presents for the modern-day business, there is also the threat of inequality. Statistics Canada cites inequality increase in the discussion of how the pandemic has affected work.
The pandemic made process automation a necessary among capable companies, which according to economists was a step in the right direction. Statistics Canada however challenges this narrative with the argument that it forged a path for a growing inequality.
Conventional technology news would support that it is value adding that technological advancements become a natural part of the growth of an economy. While companies move towards technology and related automation for purposes of increasing wealth and creating more employment in the long term, there is the short-term effect of employees losing jobs.
The promise of technology
There are many benefits of technology evolution for the long-term. With technology, wealth is improved for many people, including long-term advantages for the ones who lose their jobs during the transition. This is because the evolution provides a means for converting into better jobs and the performance of new tasks.
Inequality effects of technology
Technology news according to Statistics Canada has prepared a two-year report warning against the longer-lasting effects of Covid-19 on work. The report explains that among the most pronounced impacts is inequality. During this era, the only hope that organizational staff have had was resting the automation as an enabler for achieving job stability.
Other lifeboats for such employees include being a permanent employee or working within a company setting that can quickly recover from the pandemic. Inequality sticks out where the likelihood of the more educated individuals to retain protected jobs compared to the less educated and therefore low-income earners.
More technology news on inequality shows that employment in the technical and scientific sectors grew amid the pandemic, as these jobs are highly flexible with the option for telework. On the contrary, lower paying jobs reduced significantly especially because they involve high interactions and long contact hours.
Economists believe that slowing innovation will put the economy at a competitive disadvantage. The damage can however be minimized by applying more stringent tax policies particularly on social programs and the retention of opportunities for individuals with less stable jobs.
With more disruptive technologies that are certain to hit the market, we can expect tremors in the job market because people will be looking to reinvent themselves in different lines of work. For this reason, it is imperative to start laying the groundwork for such a time, which includes companies being open to retaining staff fast and efficiently.
Modern automation during Covid has caused an important restructuring within the labor sector like has never been seen before. While the capacity remains endless and the potential limitless, we must ensure that the restructuring serves everyone absent any issues of inequalities.
