Work in progress: The evolution of jobs

Rapid deployment of technology in the workplace has led to fears that some skills and professions will become redundant. However, history shows that the labour market has a way of adjusting to changes

Aug 04, 2018, 08:44 IST3 min

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Food for thoughtVisitors check out the latest feats of automation at the FOOMA Japan International Food Machinery and Technology Exhibition in Tokyo. The machinery shown here performs delicate tasks like laying a meal box. Japan’s competitive labour force and high capital costs have led the food industry to embrace advanced automation technologies, upending its reverence for fastidious chefs.

Image by Alessandro Di Ciommo/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Wheels of changeA Deliveroo rider cycles through central London to make a food delivery. Millions of part-time and flexible workers in the so-called gig economy in England are to receive rights like sick and holiday pay under a new government reform. Prime Minister Theresa May has promised an overhaul of employment rights.

Image by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

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Sound of music Nobody knows the vagaries of the gig economy better than musicians on the make. The New Delhi-based alternative acoustic rock band Menwhopause, for instance, weathered a lot, adamantly playing original compositions and were instrumental in shaping the indie music scene in India.

Image by Forbes

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Foreign touchFreelance Steadicam operator Mike Scott shoots a scene with actors Ihana Dhil- lon and Gurmeet Choudhary for the Bollywood film Hate Story IV on Millennium Bridge in London. Bollywood has seen a spate of foreign technicians enhancing the finish of movies. Labour market dynamics and matching skills to locations will lead to increasing relocation of talent in the future.

Image by Robert Alexander/Getty Images

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Agrarian woes Ethnic Miao villagers take part in a ploughing competition in the field to greet ‘Li Xia’, the beginning of summer in Guangxi province, China. Millions of Chinese have migrated from farms to cities, leading to labour shortages in rural areas. Many farmers work in small plots and have a limited ability to invest in farm machinery and new seed varieties. The transition to American-style agribusiness and automation will have destabilising consequences in the Chinese countryside.

Image by Reuters

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A new way of lifeAugie Fairchild and River Oneida weed onions in a garden at the 450-acre Twin Oaks Community in Virginia, US. Members of this self-reliant community share everything from housing, clothes and cars to child care. They are already out of the ‘job’ system.

Image by Norm Shafer/ For The Washington Post via Getty Images

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Bright future Visitors to the Kumbh Mela fair in Allahabad pay a small fee to listen to a fortune telling machine. No prizes for guessing what it would have to say about its own future work prospects: It will always be employed because futurists are forever.

Image by Alberto Buzzola/LightRocket via Getty Images