Latest news with #youngWorkers
Forbes
5 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
‘Good' Technology Can Help Us Adapt To A Changing World
Basic 'people skills' are becoming less prevalent in today's early-career workers, who will be ... More tomorrow's managers and leaders. The antidote to bad tech is good tech. That line comes from the new movie Mountainhead, the latest from Succession showrunner Jesse Armstrong. I've been thinking a lot about that statement since I heard Armstrong repeat it in a recent interview. Armstrong's observation landed with me because I've been spending a lot of time lately worrying about technology's impact on young people and how those effects will play out in business and society. Although I've worked in technology for my entire career, people will tell you I'm a salesperson, manager and leader at heart. I'm at my best when interacting with others, learning about their lives, their businesses and their needs, and working to create partnerships that deliver mutual benefits. Over the past several years, I've observed that these basic 'people skills' are becoming less prevalent in today's early-career workers, who will be tomorrow's managers and leaders. We've probably all noticed that young people have become programmed for overstimulation and are less engaged with real-life interactions. Younger employees and colleagues almost always default to text or email, rarely leave a voicemail (although neither do I), and sometimes seem uncomfortable on the phone or in face-to-face conversations. It appears that some combination of instant messaging, text abbreviations and emojis is robbing the next generation of at least some human interaction skills. That's a problem for business leaders. In the end, winning in business is all about convincing the people who make up your team that your strategy is right, and motivating them to execute. Try doing that via SMS. Much of this change in human behavior can be attributed to the way new technologies have made us more efficient, yet less human. Mobile phones, social media, text apps, artificial intelligence and other popular innovations have made us more productive but less social. For many younger people, these effects were amplified by the pandemic (sorry to remind you), which forced us to replace classes, meetings and other physical gatherings with virtual meetings and digital communication. These changes have found their way into the business world, where companies and workers alike are wrestling with difficult questions about how to adapt and whether or how much to push back. We won't be able to put the genie back in the bottle. So what's the answer? That's where the Mountainhead quote comes in: The antidote to bad tech is good tech. In the film, the line is meant to portray what Armstrong sees as the technology industry's insular and even arrogant nature. But there is also truth to the statement. As individuals and organizations, we need to accept that technology has changed society, business, and even people themselves in ways that won't be reversed. Whatever problems technology is creating, it's highly likely that the solutions we create will also be tech-based. What good technology can we apply as an antidote to the 'bad?' In my area of expertise, there is no shortage of options. Fintechs and other technology providers have created a host of tools that leverage digital interactions in place of in-person interactions as a means of building and maintaining business relationships. New platforms can identify prospects and clients that best align with company products and strategies, increasing the likelihood that the prospect will respond favorably to any outreach, whether digital or in person. Other products use artificial intelligence to pinpoint the precise needs and interests of prospects and clients. Increasingly, these platforms can act on their own to initiate conversations by providing targets with a steady stream of highly relevant and actionable content. That content is becoming more sophisticated and personalized. For example, new platforms enable anyone to make high-quality, professional videos quickly and cheaply. These platforms eliminate the need for extensive production teams and expensive equipment, with AI 'coaches' helping to perfect lighting, placement and other technical factors for optimal visual and production quality. Innovative avatar-based video technology allows users, after an initial recording session, to roll out a steady stream of new content in which their avatars speak directly to any target audience. Financial advisors and other professionals are using these new capabilities to interact with clients and prospects digitally without ever having to appear on camera. All these are examples of digital technologies that can be used to replace some of the in-person interactions that have long served as the foundation of relationship-building. However, person-to-person conversation will always be essential. In fact, in an increasingly digital age, old-fashioned people skills might well become the ultimate competitive advantage. To that end, 'good technology' can be used to free us from routine daily tasks and create more time for us to get out there and mingle. In my own corner of the world, I've seen solutions like Broadridge's OpsGPT and BondGPT eliminate hundreds of hours of operational and research work. At a broader level, virtual assistants, AI-powered apps that can write emails and create presentations, and other digital personal enhancement tools can untether workers from their keyboards and allow them more time in the real world—if we can convince them to take that leap!
The Independent
29-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
The employees at highest risk of workplace surveillance revealed
Young people entering the workforce and black employees are among the most likely to be subject to surveillance in the workplace, according to a report. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that shop floor staff, warehouse workers, delivery drivers, and those in call centres or working from home face a high risk of having calls recorded, emails analysed and possibly even being monitored by webcams. The think tank said there is an urgent need for legal reform to ensure workers can have a say over how they are monitored and managed both in the workplace and while working remotely, as current practices may be breaching privacy rights. Its research suggested individuals in low-skilled roles, where worker retention may be seen as less critical, and low-autonomy jobs, where there might be lower levels of employee trust, as well as those not in a union, are most likely to be subject to monitoring at work. Young workers aged 16 to 29 came out as being at high risk. Black employees were also seen as likely to face surveillance, with high rates of low autonomy and lower-skilled work, although greater levels of union representation. Among workers in the private sector, men were found to be at higher risk of surveillance across all three risk factor measures. The IPPR is calling for new legislation that gives people 'a genuine voice over how they are monitored at work' through new legal rights to consultation – similar to those with redundancy law – and more transparency requirements, compelling employers to disclose what data is collected, why, and how it will be used. Joseph Evans, IPPR researcher and co-author of the report, said while technology has 'evolved really rapidly', legislation has not kept up with the pace of change 'so at the moment many of these practices are not illegal but what we don't have is a mechanism to control them where surveillance does tip over into potential breaches of privacy or freedom of expression and association in the workplace'. He said surveillance can have 'quite negative impacts on people in terms of their health and stress and anxiety'. Artificial intelligence (AI) is has transformed surveillance, he added, giving employers an even greater insight into their employees. 'Surveillance and algorithmic management are very linked. Often surveillance packages are single software packages which both collect data and then use it to make recommendations to employers, and algorithmic management itself is being innovated and rapidly transformed by AI which can create much more sophisticated insights,' he said. Increasing levels of surveillance of certain workers could 'deepen the inequalities already baked into the labour market', said Mr Evans, noting that black workers are more likely to be in jobs with a higher risk of 'intrusive surveillance'. He added that productivity could also be affected. 'If surveillance has a chilling effect on people's willingness to express themselves in the workplace, that may also decrease their satisfaction at work,' he said. 'As part of their wider changes to employment rights, through the Employment Rights Bill, there should be substantive new rights to negotiate and consult over surveillance. And specifically adapting pieces of legislation like the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act to provide the new mechanism for workers to be able to negotiate over surveillance. 'Implicit in the right to negotiate is that it would give workers the right to challenge if they felt it (surveillance) was excessive or unfair.' The IPPR analysed data from the 2023 Institute for Social and Economic Research's UK Household Longitudinal Survey to produce its findings. A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: 'Our plan to Make Work Pay aims to ensure workers' rights keep pace with technological change so that workers' voices are at the heart of Britain's digital transition. 'This includes safeguarding against invasion of privacy and discrimination by algorithms.'
The Independent
29-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
‘Young people and black workers at highest risk of workplace surveillance'
Young people new to the labour market and black employees are among the most likely to be subject to surveillance in the workplace, according to a report. Shop floor staff, warehouse workers, delivery drivers, and those working in call centres and from home are all at high risk of having calls recorded, emails analysed and possibly even being monitored by cameras or laptop webcams, a think tank said. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said there is an urgent need for legal reform so workers can have a say over how they are monitored and managed both at work and while working from home, amid a warning rights to privacy could be being breached. Its research suggested those in low-skilled roles – where worker retention may be seen as less critical – and low-autonomy jobs – where there might be lower levels of employee trust – as well as those not in a union are most likely to be subject to monitoring at work. Young workers aged 16 to 29 came out as being at high risk. Black employees were also seen as likely to face surveillance, with high rates of low autonomy and lower-skilled work, although greater levels of union representation. Among workers in the private sector, men were found to be at higher risk of surveillance across all three risk factor measures. The IPPR is calling on the Government to introduce new legislation that gives people 'a genuine voice over how they are monitored at work' through new legal rights to consultation – similar to those with redundancy law – and more transparency requirements, compelling employers to disclose what data is collected, why, and how it will be used. Joseph Evans, IPPR researcher and co-author of the report, said while technology has 'evolved really rapidly', legislation has not kept up with the pace of change 'so at the moment many of these practices are not illegal but what we don't have is a mechanism to control them where surveillance does tip over into potential breaches of privacy or freedom of expression and association in the workplace'. He said surveillance can have 'quite negative impacts on people in terms of their health and stress and anxiety'. Artificial intelligence (AI) is has transformed surveillance, he added, giving employers an even greater insight into their employees. He said: ' Surveillance and algorithmic management are very linked. Often surveillance packages are single software packages which both collect data and then use it to make recommendations to employers, and algorithmic management itself is being innovated and rapidly transformed by AI which can create much more sophisticated insights.' Increasing levels of surveillance of certain workers could 'deepen the inequalities already baked into the labour market', said Mr Evans, noting that black workers are more likely to be in jobs with a higher risk of 'intrusive surveillance'. He added that productivity could also be affected. 'If surveillance has a chilling effect on people's willingness to express themselves in the workplace, that may also decrease their satisfaction at work,' he said. 'As part of their wider changes to employment rights, through the Employment Rights Bill, there should be substantive new rights to negotiate and consult over surveillance. And specifically adapting pieces of legislation like the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act to provide the new mechanism for workers to be able to negotiate over surveillance. 'Implicit in the right to negotiate is that it would give workers the right to challenge if they felt it (surveillance) was excessive or unfair.' The IPPR analysed data from the 2023 Institute for Social and Economic Research's UK Household Longitudinal Survey to produce its findings. A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: 'Our plan to Make Work Pay aims to ensure workers' rights keep pace with technological change so that workers' voices are at the heart of Britain's digital transition. 'This includes safeguarding against invasion of privacy and discrimination by algorithms.'
