Going straight to the source, Sykes, a business process outsourcing provider, surveyed 1500 employed adult Americans to find out what workers thought of the impact of automation in their workplace.
Here are a few sample questions from the survey. ( For the full report, click here. )
Q. What do you think when you hear the terms automation technology or robots when used in conversations in the workplace?
The survey found that despite many articles about how robots will replace workers, those surveyed are less fearful of automated technologies in the workplace than it may seem.
Over two-thirds of surveyed Americans — 677% — have a positive connotation with intelligent automation-related terminology.
Additionally, American workers in the 25 to 34 age group, predominantly Millennials, and those living in the western U.S. seem to feel most positive about these workplace technologies.
Interestingly, the western region had the highest group of respondents said that tools/machines/software could them, of any region — 73%. A similar pattern was seen with the 25 to 34 age group, 73% of which also believe that intelligent automation tools could make their work more efficient.
Q. Have you ever lost a job due to the implementation of new automation technology?
The survey found that the 45 to 54 age group, predominantly Gen X’ers, is most concerned about potential job loss due to the implementation of new automation technologies (45%).
Respondents in the northeast region were most impacted by job loss — 8% of Northeastern American workers say they have experienced job loss due to the implementation of new automation technologies.
Furthermore, Southerners are least worried about job loss; 62.07% of this region’s employed adults say they have neither faced job loss due to automation, nor do they worry about it.
Q. Has any automation program in 2019 saved you from doing parts of your job that were repetitive and boring?
Two-thirds of those surveyed (66%) indicate that automation technologies have not yet assisted them with repetitive tasks this year.
However, the 25 to 34 age group — predominantly Millennials — seem to have most benefited from these automated technologies at work; 41% say they have been assisted by an automation program in 2019, saving them from doing parts of their jobs that were repetitive and boring.
In comparison, 23% of the 54 and older age group say they have been assisted by an automation program in 2019.
Furthermore, 41% of respondents in the western region (compared to just 39% of Midwesterners) also say they have been assisted by an automation program in 2019 — in alignment with western region respondents also most believing that intelligent automation tools could make their work more efficient.
