Fears that new technologies will eliminate everyone\u2019s jobs for the benefit of only a few are familiar. Similar concerns led to furious arguments two centuries ago, as industrialisation took hold in Great Britain. At the time, the term \u201cindustrial revolution\u201d was not yet on everyone\u2019s tongue: people talked instead about the \u201cmachine question.\u201d In his 1821 essay \u201cOn Machinery,\u201d economist David Ricardo worried about the \u201cinfluence of machinery on the interests of the different classes of society\u201d and the \u201copinion entertained by the labouring class, that the employment of machinery is frequently detrimental to their interests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today the machine question is back, with a new twist. The implications of artificial intelligence (AI) are being hotly debated by technologists, economists, politicians, and philosophers alike. AI now threatens workers whose jobs had previously seemed impossible to automate, from financial analysts and lawyers to journalists. A widely cited study by Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne of Oxford University, published in 2013, found that 47% of jobs in America were at high risk of being \u201csubstituted by computer capital\u201d soon \u2013 giving the long-discussed relation between capital and labour a new urgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether or not we all lose our jobs to robots, global mobility, social and demographic changes as well as new ecosystems and life philosophies will certainly lead to new roles and career models in the future. How are societies going to react? And how will the primary purposes in life change over time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The average person now spends 100,000 hours at work over a lifetime. Work not only fills a large part of our individual lives, but often defines who we are. And even if we do not necessarily agree on what the future of work will look like, one thing is for sure: its character and meaning will change fundamentally, offering new opportunities and perspectives. The 48th St. Gallen Symposium will take up the theme of work under the title Beyond the end of work. We will tackle the issue by looking at the roles and responsibilities of individuals, societies, businesses and politicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Career paths are changing. Graduates are turning away from traditional careers in banking or corporations and considering roles at start-ups, tech giants, and consultancies. When it comes to work models, disruptions in professional careers, frequent job changes and the growing popularity of temporary contracts are posing new challenges but also offering new opportunities to the individual. If we regard work as a primary purpose in life, the question of how a changing \u2013 or partially missing \u2013 work environment affects individuals\u2019 perception of the meaning of life seems pivotal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Changing demographics mean the advent of a four-generation workforce is set to change the workplace. There has been considerable focus on youth employment in recent years, but in some regions, demographics are such that the fastest-growing segment of the workforce is over 50. Sometimes, the older workers fill jobs that might have gone to a younger workforce. But whatever the careers of the future look like, eventually \u2018retirement\u2019 is inevitable. Even if the meaning of retirement is evolving, there will be the need for providing a vision and the steps to transition into a post-work life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In order to tap new opportunities, preserve jobs and stay attractive as an employer, reacting to disruption by adopting new business models and embracing new technologies will be critical in the years to come. Moreover, finding, fostering and managing talent will be key in successfully adopting to a new work environment. Nevertheless, the private sector is continuously creating more value with less working hours or a smaller workforce. What responsibilities does it bear when it comes to today\u2019s workers as their jobs shrink or disappear?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Education is vital for the continuing prosperity of present and future generations. Therefore, redesigning education systems and including lifelong learning opportunities must be a priority around the globe. Second, finding the right political answers to new life courses will be just as important. How can states ensure the creation of jobs, beyond building bureaucratic systems themselves? How can they remain competitive when it comes to attracting and retaining jobs? And what will future tax and social welfare systems look like?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fears that new technologies will eliminate everyone\u2019s jobs for the benefit of only a few are familiar. Similar concerns led to furious arguments two centuries ago, as industrialisation took hold in Great Britain. At the time, the term \u201cindustrial revolution\u201d was not yet on everyone\u2019s tongue: people talked instead about the \u201cmachine question.\u201d In his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":2626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[112],"class_list":["post-2625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insights"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":6}},"acf":[],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/KeyVisual_Teaser_Block_0_0.jpg",250,193,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/KeyVisual_Teaser_Block_0_0-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/KeyVisual_Teaser_Block_0_0.jpg",250,193,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/KeyVisual_Teaser_Block_0_0.jpg",250,193,false],"large":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/KeyVisual_Teaser_Block_0_0.jpg",250,193,false],"xl":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/KeyVisual_Teaser_Block_0_0.jpg",250,193,false],"xxl":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/KeyVisual_Teaser_Block_0_0.jpg",250,193,false],"xxxl":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/KeyVisual_Teaser_Block_0_0.jpg",250,193,false],"xxxxl":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/KeyVisual_Teaser_Block_0_0.jpg",250,193,false],"xxxxxl":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/KeyVisual_Teaser_Block_0_0.jpg",250,193,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/KeyVisual_Teaser_Block_0_0.jpg",250,193,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/KeyVisual_Teaser_Block_0_0.jpg",250,193,false]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"
Fears that new technologies will eliminate everyone\u2019s jobs for the benefit of only a few are familiar. Similar concerns led to furious arguments two centuries ago, as industrialisation took hold in Great Britain. At the time, the term \u201cindustrial revolution\u201d was not yet on everyone\u2019s tongue: people talked instead about the \u201cmachine question.\u201d In his 1821 essay \u201cOn Machinery,\u201d economist David Ricardo worried about the \u201cinfluence of machinery on the interests of the different classes of society\u201d and the \u201copinion entertained by the labouring class, that the employment of machinery is frequently detrimental to their interests.\u201d Today the machine question…<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"INSIGHTS<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"wordpress@weitblick-online.ch","url":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/author\/wordpressweitblick-online-ch\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","authors":[{"term_id":112,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"st-gallen-symposium-dominic-baumann","display_name":"St. Gallen Symposium, Dominic Baumann","avatar_url":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/gravatars\/762b22de4bf1bf3924204e9b02554eaa","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2625"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3000,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2625\/revisions\/3000"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2625"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/symposium.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}