Job Security In The Future

You’ve heard it a million times, but it’s probably still true that your job will be replaced by automation. As the world is changing along with consumer preferences, the skill sets required for future “jobs” will change.

According to a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, about 38 percent of jobs could be lost to automation in the next 15 years. The consequences with our love-hate relationship with automation call upon repercussions to all jobs, white-collar and blue-collar.

Despite this upcoming storm, remember that humans have constantly adapted to drastically changing work environments from the Industrial Revolution to the Dot-Com Era. There are ways to ride the waves of change while maintaining your marketability as an employee. Here are some ways:

Obtain Certifications: There are no more excuses to sit back. Make a conscious effort to update your skills. There are endless opportunities for e-learning at your fingertips with websites such as Coursera and YouTube. Moreover, these options are often free of cost. Other professional certifications may come with a cost, but consider it as an investment for the future. Keep in mind that the industry does not stop changing right when you obtain a certification – a certification in digital marketing might have lost its value compared to ten years ago.

Stay Updated: Keep abreast with news. It can present forms of education, entertainment and inspiration, but most importantly, the news provides a channel for you to stay relevant. A stellar employee would be more capable of bettering their work and addressing stakeholder perspectives if they had the knowledge of current events in the world. News also serves as sources of examples and can lead to insights about future happenings.

Take on Challenges: If you’re going to work to complete a mundane task, that work can probably be done by a robot with less time and cost. Don’t be afraid to take on work that requires extra creativity, research and trial-and-error. While you’re on the job, you’ll grow your skills and might even surprise yourself with your capabilities. The greatest compensation for work is your skill growth rather than money.

Network: There is no such thing as a one man team, and networking is essential now and in the future. Expanding upon your personal and professional network will bring fruitful results such as an avenue to exchange ideas or a basket of extra resources. Networking increases your visibility in the hiring marketplace and will be crucial to growing your book of business. Automation will make it easier to expand your network across different planes through platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Zoom. Who knows what “coffee chats” will look like in the future, but we know it will still definitely be relevant. So maybe your job is on the verge of automation, why not use your network to look for new opportunities (assuming you have been updating your skills)? Networking isn’t too difficult – It can be as easy as sending a short message to an old acquaintance or sharing an interesting article that you come across.

Encourage Performance Reviews: Performance reviews provide insight about your workplace status. The more proactively you seek feedback, the more you will be able to tailor your performance to match the needs of your employer. Currently, humans are able to exhibit and accept behavioral signals then robots. Not only are employee reviews essential, but employee feedback is also crucial to better implement processes in the workplace.

Focus on Booming Sectors: he advent of technology has led to the redundancy of certain jobs. Being vigilant of what those jobs and sectors are will help an employee choose the right industry to work in and company to work for. Considering all else equal, it’s advantageous to choose to work for a company that sees value in investing in technology.