Robots Take Jobs

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Robots could take over 20 million manufacturing jobs around the world by 2030, economists claimed Wednesday.

According to a new study from Oxford Economics, within the next 11 years there could be 14 million robots put to work in China alone.

Economists analyzed long-term trends around the uptake of automation in the workplace, noting that the number of robots in use worldwide increased threefold over the past two decades to 2.25 million.

While researchers predicted the rise of robots will bring about benefits in terms of productivity and economic growth, they also acknowledged the drawbacks that were expected to arise simultaneously.

“As a result of robotization, tens of millions of jobs will be lost, especially in poorer local economies that rely on lower-skilled workers. This will therefore translate to an increase in income inequality,” the study’s authors said.

However, if robot installations were boosted to 30% more than the baseline forecast by 2030, researchers estimated it would lead to a 5.3% boost in global GDP that year.

“This equates to adding an extra $4.9 trillion per year to the global economy by 2030 (in today’s prices) — equivalent to an economy greater than the projected size of Germany’s,” the report said.

Regional vulnerabilities
According to the report, the number of robots installed in workplaces in the past four years is the same as the number put to work over the eight years previous.

Approximately every third robot in industry is now installed in China, researchers found, with the world’s second-largest economy accounting for around one-in-five of the global stock of robots.

It was predicted that by 2030, more than 1.5 million jobs would have been lost to robots in the United States. In China, that number was expected to exceed 11 million. Across EU member states, almost 2 million people would lose out on employment because of automation, the report said.

When it came to job losses, the most vulnerable states in the U.S. included Texas, Louisiana and Indiana, with Oregon named the most susceptible to the negative effects of automation.

The regions of Chemnitz, Thuringen and Oberfranken were most vulnerable in Germany, while the Midlands and North West of England were Britain’s most vulnerable regions.  READ MORE...




https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/26/robots-could-take-over-20-million-jobs-by-2030-study-claims.html

Narcissists Climb the Ladder

People with a high degree of narcissism get promoted faster, new research shows. Why?

Much ink has been spilled on the dangers of the narcissistic CEO. They tend to instil an individualistic culture throughout the corporation, which reduces collaboration and integrity. 

They are known make rash and risky decisions that can weaken a company’s long-term resilience, and they are more likely to engage in aggressive tax avoidance and commit managerial fraud. 

Some management scientists have even speculated that narcissism can bring down entire companies, as may have been the case with the fall of Enron in 2001.

Despite these serious concerns about narcissistic leadership, surprisingly little is known about the way ways that these self-centred and over-confident people arrive at their positions of power in the first place. 

Does the ambition and hubris of narcissism actively help someone to be promoted, so that they are more likely to reach the top than the average person? Or are narcissistic leaders a toxic, but rather uncommon, phenomenon in the average workplace?

A new paper by Italian researchers attempts to close that gap in our knowledge – and it has some serious implications for the ways that companies select and reward their employees.  READ MORE

Shorter Work Week

More than ever, workers want to work fewer hours, saying they can be just as effective in less time – and happier, too. They may be on to something.

We’re living in an age of radical transformation in the workplace. Options like all-remote or hybrid – which were completely unthinkable for most people just two years ago – are now becoming part of work mainstream. 

The idea of shrinking the workweek is also gaining traction, particularly in light of recent examples of workforces who have successfully trialed a reduced-hours’ week.

A shorter workweek could take various forms. There’s the four-day week, where you reduce your working hours by 20%. There are different models; everyone at a company might take the same day off, or people chose the structure that works for them, like taking two afternoons off. 

Or you might just reduce the workweek by a certain number of hours, from 40 down to 36, for example. A commonality across all models is that you’re not cramming your previous work span into a shorter timeframe, like working 40 hours in four days; you are removing a portion of your total work time for the week. Most importantly, salaries remain the same.

Experts and workers alike are debating the idea, because the pandemic has forced us to take a long, hard look at the modern workplace, and associated themes like work-life balance, mental health and worker flexibility. 

Proponents argue that a reduced-hours working model can help address many current work negatives, making employees more productive, healthier and happier.  READ MORE

Workplace Communications

Communication problems in the workplace can have a negative impact on morale, productivity and interdepartmental working relationships. When left unchecked, ongoing communication problems can potentially cut into profits, increase turnover and lead to mistakes that negatively impact the company’s public image. Recognizing and addressing common issues can smooth over problems before they get out of hand. Watch for common workplace communication problems and resolve them quickly.

Common Communication Problems

1. Failure to communicate fully
2. Assuming someone else has the ball
3. Failure to self edit
4. Being unprepared
5. Using the wrong communications tool
6. Saying too much

People in general make the assumption that communications is simple when in reality if you are not taught how to communicate properly, it is 100% certain that the communicator will be misunderstood...

Let me try to paint an example of what I am saying...

1.  Person A makes a comment to person B

2.  there is a 50/50 chance that communications are perfect

3.  Person B communicates to person C

4.  50% chance of understanding (B) times another 50% chance of understanding (C)

5.  the result is .50 X .50  =  .25

6.  or a 25% chance that person C understands what person A was trying to communicate

7.  now person C communicates to person D

8.  25% chance of understanding (C) times 50% chance of understanding (D)

9.  the result is .25 x .50  =  ,125

10.  or there is a 12.5% chance that person D understands what Person A was trying to communicate.

NOTE:  From the very beginning there is a problem with my communications example because everyone made the assumption that communicating was not a problem...  everyone knows how to talk.

If you are married, you also understand how difficult it is sometimes when talking to your spouse, as what you thought you said clearly was still misunderstood...  and, if the issue is pushed then a huge argument follows pissing off both spouses to the point that they go into separate room and stop communication altogether.

These actions are extremely detrimental to a marriage and they are devastating to a company.