Will Employees and Technology Continue to Coexist Despite Historic Tensions?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/2664-3731/13466Keywords:
uneven geographical development, technological integration into labour force, industrial relations in the digital age, impact of technology on employees, employees–technology coexistence, technology shocksAbstract
In developed economies, the integration of technology into the labour force has largely led to massive job losses, and workers have met this with stiff resistance. This has changed the dynamics of industrial relations in this era of digital age. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways in which digitalisation has been affecting human labour in workplaces in South Africa and what can be done to enable employees–technology coexistence. In the study, I used qualitative data-collection methods—interviews, observation and document collection. I used purposive and convenience sampling to select the participants. Analysis of the collected data yielded six major findings. The major tenets of these findings were that digitalisation leads to job losses in South Africa and that the country was not sufficiently preparing students and workers for human–machine collaboration. Although the study was intended to focus on various sectors of the South African economy, I was more biased towards the local banking sector. This could be viewed as a limitation of this study. The study made practical and methodological contributions. It also made an essential contribution to digital transformation theory and employee relations body of knowledge. A major recommendation is that policymakers should mitigate against technology shocks and uneven geographical phenomenon by connecting major commercial hubs with major labour market hubs. Future studies should focus on the impact of technology on employees in each economic sector in South Africa.
Metrics
References
Armstrong, B., & Lee, G. J. (2023a). Business strategy for the digital era. Silk Route Press.
Armstrong, B., & Lee, G. J. (2023b). Digital transformation maturity. Silk Route Press.
Attaran, M. (2023). The impact of 5G on the evolution of intelligent automation and industry digitization. Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanised Computing, 14(5), 5977–5993. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12652-020-02521-x
Bond, P. (2018). The BRICS, global governance, accumulation, class struggle and resource extractivism. CADTM. https://www.cadtm.org/spip.php?page=imprimer&id_article=16115
Bozkurt, T., & Karakoy, C. (2022). International trade review of Asian tigers countries (2000–2020). Journal of Process Management and New Technologies, 10(1–2), 52–69. https://doi.org/10.5937/jpmnt10-37249
Carson, S. A. (2020). Alan Greenspan & Adrian Wooldridge, capitalism in America: A history. Journal of Economics and Political Economy, 7(3), 204–208. https://doi.org/10.1453/jepe.v7i3.2121
City of Johannesburg. (2016, June). City of Johannesburg end of the term (2011–2016) report. City of Johannesburg.
Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution. (2020). Summary report & recommendations. Department of Communications and Digital Technologies. chrome-https://www.ellipsis.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/201023-Report-of-the-Presidential-Commission-on-the-Fourth-Industrial-Revolution.pdf
Dagada, R. (2021). Digital commerce governance in the era of Fourth Industrial Revolution in South Africa. Unisa.
Dagada, R. (2024). The advancement of 4IR technologies and increasing cyberattacks in South Africa. Southern African Journal of Security. https://doi.org/10.25159/3005-4222/15157
Dagada, R., & Eloff, M. M. (2013). Integration of policy aspects into information security issues in South African organisations. African Journal of Business Management, 7(31), 3069–3077. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/19853
Department of Basic Education. (2020/21). Annual report. DBE.
Domash, A., & Summers, L. H. (2022). How tight are U.S. labor markets. (Working Paper 29739). National Bureau of Economic Research. http://www.nber.org/papers/w29739
Frey, C. B. (2019). The technology trap: Capital, labour, and power in the age of automation. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691191959
Frey, C. B., & Osborne, M. A. (2015). Technology at work: The future of innovation and employment. Citi GPS.
Frey, C. B., & Osborne, M. A. (2017). The future of employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 114, 254–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.08.019
Gauteng Department of Education. (2018/19). Annual report, 2018/19. Gauteng Provincial Government.
Gauteng Provincial Government. (2009, April). End of the 3rd term political report .Gauteng Provincial Government.
Gasteiger, E., & Prettner, K. (2022). Automation, stagnation, and the implications of a robot tax. Macroeconomic Dynamics, 26(1), 218–249. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1365100520000139
Grabs, J., & Carodenuto, S. L. (2021). Traders as sustainability governance actors in global food supply chains: A research agenda. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(2), 1314–1332. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2686
Greenspan, A. (2007). The age of turbulence: Adventures in a new world. Penguin Books.
Greenhalgh, T., & Taylor, R. (1997). How to read a paper: Papers that go beyond numbers (qualitative research). British Medical Journal, 315(7110), 740–743. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.315.7110.740
Heilbroner, R. (1999). The worldly philosophers: The lives, times and ideas of the great economic thinkers. Touchstone.
Kenny, N., Doyle, A., & Horgan, F. (2023). Transformation inclusion: Differentiating qualitative research methods to support participation for individuals with complex communication or cognitive profiles. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 22. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069221146992
Li, Y., & Zhang, S. (2022). Qualitative data analysis. Applied Research Methods in Urban and Regional Planning, 149–165. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93574-0_8
Merriam, B. S. 1998. Qualitative research and case study applications in education. Jossey-Bass.
Mokyr, J. (2018). The British industrial revolution: An economic perspective (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429494567
O’Rourke, K. H., Rahman, A. S., & Taylor, A. M. (2013). Luddites, the industrial revolution, and the demographic transition. Journal of Economic Growth, 18, 373–409. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10887-013-9096-y
Paulus, T. M. (2023). Using qualitative data analysis software to support digital research workflows. Human Resources Development Review, 22(1), 139–148. https://doi.org/10.1177/15344843221138381
Poitras, G. (2020). The luddite trials: Radical suppression and the administration of criminal justice. Journal for the Study of Radicalism, 14(1), 121–166. https://doi.org/10.14321/jstudradi.14.1.0121
Rymarczyk, J. (2021). The impact of industrial revolution 4.0 on international trade. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 9(1), 105–117. https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2021.090107
Schoonenboom, J. (2023). The fundamental difference between qualitative and quantitative data in mixed methods research. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-24.1.3986
Schwab, K. (2016). The fourth industrial revolution. Penguin.
Shrivastava, S. R., & Shrivastava, P. S. (2023). Data collection process in qualitative research: Challenges and potential solutions. Medical Journal of Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidapeeth.
Truman, S. E. (2023). Undisciplined: Research-creation and what it may offer (traditional) qualitative research methods. Qualitative Inquiry, 29(1), 95–104. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778004221098380
Webster, C., & Ivanov, S. (2020). Robotics, artificial intelligence, and the evolving nature of work. Digital Transformation in Business and Society, 127–143. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-08277-2_8
World Economic Forum. (2019). Digital transformation initiative in collaboration with Accenture. WEF.
Xing, B., & Marwala, T. (2017). Implications of the fourth industrial age for higher education. The Thinker, 73(3). https://ssrn.com/abstract=3225331
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Accepted 2023-07-20
Published 2024-04-16