Computers in the workplace (is 912 A4)

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Computers in the workplace (IS 912 A4)

 

Summer 1991 (Vol. 3, No. 2) Article No. 4

Computers in the workplace 

(1)

Graham S. Lowe 

Spectacular advances in microelectronic technologies are transforming the workplace. Over the past 

decade, the effects of technological change on employment opportunities, job content and work rewards 

have been widely discussed. Indeed, the debate has polarized around positive and negative perspectives. 

(2)

 The positive image of an emerging postindustrial society emphasizes the personal and social 

advantages of work in hightechnology and informationintensive service industries: jobs will be more 

challenging and rewarding, offering employees more control over where, when and how they work. 

Critics, however, raise serious doubts. Will more efficient technologies mean fewer jobs? Will 

automation de-skill work and reduce the overall quality of working life? And if there are benefits from 

automation, who will be the winners? 

Unfortunately, with the exception of research by the Economic Council of Canada, few national studies 

have examined the extent and impact of technological changes in the workplace. 

(3)

 Thus it is difficult to 

evaluate these competing positions on new technologies. This article injects some new evidence into the 

debate using data from the General Social Survey (GSS) of February 1989. 

Specifically, the GSS illuminates three issues in workplace automation. First, it documents which 

employees are most likely to use mainframe computers, personal computers, and word processors. This 

captures office automation, which accounted for the majority of workplace technological innovations in 

the last decade. 

(4)

 However, the survey did not examine the use of new industrial technologies such as 

robots, computer numerically controlled machines, computerassisted manufacturing, or automated 

material handling systems. Second, shifting to a broader focus on computers and automated technology, 

the GSS addresses how their introduction affected the employed labour force during the 1984 to 1989 

period. And third, the survey briefly touches upon the issue of job loss resulting from the introduction of 

new technology, broadly defined.