Everbody is talking about the need to go digital, but what about the workers.

Everbody is talking about the need to go digital, but what about the workers. | M. NADAL

Humphrey CarterPalma14/03/2022 09:51
TW
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Digitalisation, along with sustainability, is one of the buzz words at the moment. But, while it may be very attractive to employers what about the future of employees? The more “digital” companies become the fewer people they will need to employ.

It’s a short term big investment but the long term gains of having an ever decreasing costly workforce means more profit for businesses, but where are people going to find jobs? And if people can’t find work, they’re not earning a living, or having to live off the state and that will mean less money on the high streets which will lead to more small businesses having to close due to lack of trade.

From bar tenders to financial analysts, they are all being replaced by something digital, be it a robot cocktail maker or a new IT programme which can crunch numbers faster than a human being. That said, what kind of workforce do we want? Never mind current rising operating costs, the agricultural sector, for example, has been suffering for years because young people no longer want to work on a farm - hence why Europe ends up depending on Ukraine for wheat, for example, not to mention where our gas comes from.

Perhaps we should also think about getting back to basics, start growing our own produce again so we can be more self sufficient because if we all go digital, if China stops making chips, we can’t work.