Effects of Online Services

Learning Objectives To understand the effects of the use of online services on society.

Employment In general computers / robots have replaced a lot of jobs. E.g. A lot of car workers are unemployed and have been replaced with robots Most car parks are now automated and there is less need for car park attendants

Video 1 Video 2 A lot of manual labour jobs have been replaced with computer controlled robots.

Repetitiveness and Accuracy Many jobs eg car assembly have little need for feedback and do not require human judgement / and reactions. Computers / Robots are perfect for this Computers also need no rest / breaks

Time and automation Many office jobs are very routine and can be down by a computer. Calculating people’s wages (payroll) used to be done by staff. Now this can be done by computers.

Bank Workers With the increase in ATM’s With the decrease in use of cheques There is less need for bank workers to be in the branch (banks have cut staff).

Shop Workers With the increase automated EFTPOS machines There are less cashiers working within shops / supermarkets.

Some jobs have been created… such as… ICT Technicians

Some jobs have been created… such as… Programmers

Some jobs have been created… such as… Analysts

Some jobs have been created… such as… Help Desk / Call Centres – some in developing countries.

Leisure Time People thing that ICT has led to reduction in work, and more leisure time Evidence suggests that people can take their work home with them (i.e. laptops / USB / external hard drives). People are called out of hours and reply to s.

Working Practices: Job Sharing When two people are employed instead of one, on a part time basis. Employers get a mix of skills and experience.

Working Practices: Part-Time Working As ICT has cut jobs some employers would rather employee more people, but part time (more flexible) E.g. call centers may need people to work late at night (but not all night) so some people will do 8am – 8pm and then another shift does 8pm till midnight.

Working Practices: Flexible Working Hours It is become quite fashionable for some workers to pick their own hours. (Especially IT workers). As long as their work is done, they do a minimum number of hours a week Sometimes they have to be in by 10am at the latest for example.

Working Practices: Working From Home Sometimes called teleworking. No need to commute. No need to rent office space. Harder to maintain contact with team. Some people get distracted at home, when they wouldn’t in an office.

Working Practices: Compressed Hours Similar to flexible working hours, Workers can do their hours but over less time. Eg. If they stay late and do longer days Monday – Thursday, they may get to leave early Friday.

Working Practices: Moving Branch to Branch As large companies have WANs it means that employees can move to a different branch. They can still access their files over the network. Very flexible for the company.