A recent article in Quartz highlights the threat that technology poses to men in the workforce.
Here are some of the key points in the article:
- Technology can be seen as the cause to much of the world’s rising populism and discontent.
- Masculinity is often tied to one’s work, and many jobs that were traditionally done by men are now being automated.
- The labor force participation rate for men aged 25 to 55 fell by 3.5 percentage points from 1994 to 2014. It is expected to further fall over the next decade.
- For many households, just having a male breadwinner is no longer sufficient.
- Median wages for males haven’t increased since the 1970s, and are in fact falling in many industries, such as construction, transportation, and manufacturing.
- It is very well possible that work may return to its more traditional form where people worked at home and set their own hours. Think of farmers, for example.
- Interestingly enough, when factory work came around, men initially thought it to be demeaning. They had to show up at a specific time, stay the entire day, and take orders from another man.
- This phenomenon led more women and children to work in factories initially. By the 20th century, however, men working a conventional job became the standard.
- Due to uncertainty about the future job market, many parents see their kids’ prospects as being bleak.
- Experts believe that future jobs will be very specialized and have a more entrepreneurial outlook. Many people may have multiple jobs, and have the flexibility of working from home.
