2. Changing Employment Patterns

Strategy Coordinator:
Sabina Rohlfs, President, IF
Interface Consulting Inc.,
Ottawa

“Four major concerns and problems were raised during the
workshops on 'Changing Employment Patterns':

  • Loss of jobs.
  • Deskilling of existing jobs.
  • Work monitored by computers.
  • Loss of social contacts and isolation of workers.

Many suggestions and strategies were proposed on how to deal with the problems and concerns. They can be divided into three groups:

  1. Strategies directly applicable for systems being introduced right now, or in the near future (short term).

  2. Strategies which need further investigation, or which will take some time to be achieved (medium term).

  3. Strategies which require a considerable amount of investigation; their pursuit may change our society and its values along with the overall economic situation (long term).

1) Short-Term Strategies, applicable for systems being introduced right now, or in the very near future:

  • Use participative design techniques for the planning, design and implementation of new systems.

  • Use a multi-disciplinary approach.

  • Technology must be managed properly; make sure that different design choices are considered.

  • Make sure that new systems provide jobs for people with different skill levels.

  • Make sure that new systems provide jobs for the handicapped.

  • Provide occupational bridging.

  • Consider job rotation.

  • Consider job sharing and flexible working hours.

  • Obtain greater control of training.

2) Medium-Term Strategies:

  • Educate women on technological change.

  • Get women into decision-making positions.

  • Organize the unorganized.

  • Broaden collective bargaining agreements to address the major concerns and problems described above.

  • Consider reduction of work hours.

  • Introduce appropriate legislation.

  • Study models from other countries addressing the major concerns and problems described above.

3) Long-Term Strategies:

  • Review definition of gross national product (GNP).

  • Review overall macro-economic policy.

  • Review welfare and income distribution policy.

  • Examine the role of multinational firms in our economy and in Third World nations.

    So what can we do now?

  • We can raise each other's awareness of the problems by talking to each other at work and at home.

  • We must become computer-literate (community colleges offer appropriate courses)

  • We must become generalists, rather than specialists. We need a broader education.

  • We must accept the fact that learning is a life-long occupation, and prepare for it in education and career planning.

  • We must establish a clearing house to collect and make available to others the information on the impact of microtechnology and potential solutions.

  • We must specify policies for co-operation with the Third World.

  • We must have a charter of rights for technological change, accompanied by a political and educational campaign to raise awareness of the problems.

  • We must organize a coalition of women's groups, community groups and unions.

  • We must lobby the government.

  • We must get women into politics.

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