Chapter 8: Computers and Work

1. Chapter 8: Computers and Work By: Charmaine B. Aquino and Kennedy B. Mateo February 2011

2. 8.1 The Changing Nature of Work8.2 The Impact on Employment Charmaine B. Aquino

3. 8.1 The Changing Nature of Work • Computers have a profound impact on work. • Jobs are eliminated • New jobs are created • Some positive effects: • Repetitious/boring jobs can be done with computers. • People can work from home (“telework”). • Employers can better monitor their workers. • Some negative effects: • Employee-monitoring privacy issues • Health issues have been associated with computer usage.

4. 8.2 The Impact on Employment(Job Destruction and Creation) • Unemployment • The number of bank tellers dropped by 37% between 1983 and 1993. • The number of telephone switchboard operators dropped from 421,000 in 1970 to 164,000 in 1996. • Railroads computerized their dispatch operations and eliminated hundreds of employees. • Travel agencies closed as more consumers made airplane reservations online. • As digital camera prices decline, more film processors will go out of business. • Technology in general and computers in particular eliminate jobs.

5. 8.2 The Impact on Employment(Job Destruction and Creation) • However, there are positive changes. • While the amount of telephone operators dropped by more than 60%, the number of long-distance calls increased from 9.8 billion to 94.9 billion. • The bank handles 1.5 million customer inquiries with fewer service representatives. • The railroad ships more tons per worker with its new computer system. • The Federal Reserve reported that in 1998, US factories produced 3.5 times as much as in 1960 but had only 10% more workers. • During the recession of 2001, productivity increased at a higher rate than in previous recessions. • Economists credit faster microprocessors and increased investment in technology.

6. 8.2 The Impact on Employment(Job Destruction and Creation) • If a specific technology is successful, it eliminates some jobs, but it is likely to create others: • People build PDAs and write software for them. • People make cell phones, routers, and servers that run the internet. • New jobs in software, web design, and security are created.

7. 8.2 The Impact on Employment(Job Destruction and Creation) • What is the overall effect? • Measuring the effects of computers is difficult. • There are other factors that influence employment besides computers. • CDs and the internet brought the cost of an individual “performance” in a private home down so low that music is available to almost anyone. • The effect on employment? Thousands of musicians are able to make a living by burning their own CDs and selling their music, or even advertising their music and band products online. File-sharing can be used to their advantage to expose themselves. • If technology brings the cost of a product/service down far enough to expand the market, more people will work in that field.

8. 8.2 The Impact on Employment(Job Destruction and Creation) • According to the text, computer technology did not cause significant unemployment in the last decades of the 20th century. • Since the Industrial Revolution, technology has been blamed for massive unemployment. • But consider the Great Depression in the 1930s, which was not caused by technology. • Wages appeared to decline as much as 10% after 1970. • This is sometimes cited as an indication that the value of human work is declining as computers take over tasks people used to do. • But while computerization has increased, income and quality of life has increased too.

9. 8.2.2 Changing Skills and Jobs • Computers are different from earlier technologies. • Computers eliminate a wider variety of jobs. • The transition to new jobs will be more difficult because of the broad impact. • The pace of improvement in speed, capability, and cost for computers is much faster than for any previous technology. • This pace will cause more job disruption as people find their jobs being eliminated and they need to retrain again and again.

10. 8.2.2 Changing Skills and Jobs • Computers eliminate many high-skilled jobs. • Software makes decisions that used to require trained people. • Some computer programs write computer programs, reducing the need for trained programmers. • In 1996 to 2006, computer scientists, engineers, and system analysts were expected to double, but the growth was only 23%. • This might reflect the declining importance of simple programming, but there is still a growth, not a decline.

11. 8.2.2 Changing Skills and Jobs • When large numbers of people lose their jobs in a small community, difficult social problems occur. • This is common in a dynamic society where technology is developing at a fast pace. • However: • Online training programs help people to learn new skills at their own pace whenever they have time. • Websites with job listings help people find good jobs. • Thus, computer technology, especially the internet, can help people find better jobs and make transitions easier.

12. 8.3 The Work Environment Charmaine B. Aquino

13. 8.3 The Work Environment(Background Info) • Computers have changed the work environment. • There’s teleworking and the impact of computer technology on business structure. • There’s monitoring of employee’s work, physical location, e-mail activity, and all other internet activity. • Teleworking/Telecommuting • Working for an employer from home, or anywhere else outside of the office. • Computers, modems, fax machines, etc. • In 1990, 4 million American teleworked regularly. • In 2000, it increased to 24 million.

14. “24” on Fox. Example of teleworking disadvantages. Length: 0:54

15. 8.3 The Work Environment(Teleworking Benefits) • Benefits for employers: • Reduced overhead • Increased productivity • No need for large and expensive downtown offices • Benefits for employees: • Expenses for work clothes are reduced. • Easier for elderly/disabled people to work from home. • Flexible hours • Other Benefits: • Reduced rush-hour traffic, pollution, and gas

16. 8.3 The Work Environment(Teleworking Problems) • Some employees are less productive, while others work too much. • Children or spouses can be a distraction. • Other problems: • Stress, giving up space at home for office equipment, maintenance of equipment, social isolation • Lack of “visibility” in the office can be a disadvantage when promotions and bonuses are awarded. • Aside from benefits and problems to teleworking, there are several side effects. • An urban policy researcher observed that teleworking might encourage a return to involvement into one’s local community.

17. “The Office” on NBC. At the office, but low productivity. Length: 1:26

18. 8.3 The Work Environment(Restrictions on Telework) • Local governments and labor unions tried to stop teleworking in the 1980s. • The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) tried to regulate it in 1999. • Local laws sometimes prohibit home businesses from receiving deliveries or having customers at their homes. • However, efforts to stop computer work at home quickly failed since the amount of teleworkers increased dramatically.

19. 8.3 The Work Environment(Changing Business Structures) • Different observers see trends going in opposite directions for the impact of computers on the size and structure of business. • Some see the trends going toward smaller businesses. • Some see computers contributing to the growth of large, multinational corporations. • In January 2000, AOL announced plans to acquire Time Warner. At the time, the merger was the largest deal in history, combining the nation’s top ISP with the world’s top media company. (Source: http://money.cnn.com/2000/01/10/deals/aol_warner) • There were many big mergers and buy-outs in the 1990s, and more are negotiated regularly now. • But large companies are also splitting up into smaller units and branches.

20. 8.3 The Work Environment(Changing Business Structures) • Furthermore, the availability of information technology is causing many businesses to give workers more information and more decision-making authority. • Example: Credit-card company service representatives can make decisions to cancel a late charge. • The need for middle managers is decreasing.

21. 8.4 Employee Monitoring Kennedy B. Mateo

22. 8.4 Employee Monitoring(Background Info) • Old methods: • Total hours monitored by time clocks • Total output manually counted • Phone calls recorded on tape • Security cameras recorded on tape • With new methods, monitoring with the use of computers can be constant, more detailed, and unseen by the worker. • Remote viewing of a worker’s computer • Phone conversations, e-mail, internet logs, physical surveillance can be stored in larger amounts on hard drives.

23. “The Office” on NBC. E-mail surveillance. Length: 1:40

24. 8.4 Employee Monitoring(Data Entry, Phone Work, Retail) • Employers sometimes set keystroke quotas, and make these records of employees’ performance public in the workplace to encourage competition among workers. • Phone number, duration of a call, and the idle time between calls can be logged. • The purpose is to evaluate individual employees and to measure productivity.

25. 8.4 Employee Monitoring(Data Entry, Phone Work, Retail) • Negative views of employee monitoring: • Diminished sense of dignity • Confidence destroyed • Workers are treated like machines • Causes stress • Too much emphasis on quantity instead of quality • Many argue that monitoring customer service calls is a privacy issue. • Employers argue that there’s no privacy issue. The calls are not personal ones, they’re calls with a customer/client. • They’re supposed to be related to the job.

26. 8.4 Employee Monitoring(Data Entry, Phone Work, Retail) • Complaints about monitoring led to many large firms and industries to establish clear and detailed monitoring policies. • According to a recent study, companies are also concerned about making sure e-mail isn’t used to leak company trade secrets or other intellectual property. • According to the survey, more than “one in three” companies investigated a suspected e-mail leak of confidential information in a 12 month period. • More than “one in four” companies have fired an employee for violating e-mail policies in a 12 month period. • (Source: http://news.com.com/Companies+ramping+up+e-mail+monitoring/2100-1022_3-5738134.html)

27. 8.4 Employee Monitoring(Data Entry, Phone Work, Retail) • In retail environments, employee monitoring is used to reduce theft. • Theft by retail-store employees amounts to more than losses from shoplifters. • Some stores use software that monitors transactions at the cash registers, searching for suspicious patterns.

28. 8.4 Employee Monitoring(Location Monitoring) • Electronic ID badges used as door keys provide better security. • This can be a privacy issue, because it allows monitoring of employees’ locations. • But there are cases where monitoring might be necessary. • Some hospitals have their nurses wear badges that track their exact location so that they can be found quickly if there’s an emergency.

29. 8.4 Employee Monitoring(E-mail and Voicemail at Work) • The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) prohibits interception of e-mail without a court order, but the ECPA makes an exception for business systems. • Approximately half of the major companies in the US monitors employee e-mail, voicemail, and other computer files. • Employers claim they have the right and need to monitor the use of their facilities. • Some companies read employee e-mail only if there’s a complaint or suspicious activity, while other companies read all e-mail. • E-mail is usually filtered for content that violates laws or company policy, or content that can lead to lawsuits. • A common e-mail problem is harassment. • (Source: http://www.email-policy.com)

30. “The Office” UK Version on BBC. Inappropriate e-mailing. Length: 1:04

31. 8.4 Employee Monitoring(Law and Cases) • Computers, mail, and phone systems used at work are the property of the employer and are provided for business purposes. • Employers are permitted by law to monitor phone calls for business purposes. • However, an employer must stop monitoring a call as soon as it is apparent that the call is personal. • Clear statements of monitoring policies by the employer is essential from an ethical perspective. • From a practical perspective, a clear policy reduces disputes and abuses.

32. 8.4 Employee Monitoring(Law and Cases) • Some courts rule that if employers allow employees to use their own locks on their lockers, the employee has an expectation of privacy. • An employee fired by Microsoft tried to sue the company, using this locker analogy. • He claimed that Microsoft invaded his privacy by accessing e-mail that he had stored in a personal folder, protected by a password on his computer at work. • The court ruled against him, saying that lockers are a physical space for storing physical items, but the password-protected folder on the work computer is supposed to be for work purposes only. • In October 2003, Microsoft fired a worker over a blog posting. • The worker had taken a picture of a shipment of computers at the loading dock on his way to work. • He posted the picture online, and posted that it was at Microsoft’s shipping-and-receiving facility. The next day, his manager told him that he was being let go. • The post was considered a security risk because a careful reader could figure out the location of Microsoft’s shipping-and-receiving department. • (Source: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/146115_blogger30.html)

33. 8.4 Employee Monitoring(Law and Cases) • The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) sets rules and decides cases about work-employer relations. • Workers have a legal right to communicate with coworkers about work conditions, and the NLRB rules in some cases that they may do so on company e-mail systems.

34. 8.4 Employee Monitoring(Surfing the Web at Work) • For many people, their first access to the internet was at work in the late 1990s. • One study counted 12,823 visits to Penthouse magazine’s website in a single month in 1996 from computers at IBM, Apple, and AT&T. • Visits to adult and pornography sites were soon overtaken by visits to chat rooms, and sites about sports, shopping, and gambling. • Some companies found that employees spent more than 2 hours a week on nonwork internet activity. • Employees are not working the hours that they are paid to work. • Another problem is that websites can determine where a visitor is coming from. • It can be an embarrassment if a company’s employees are reported to be visiting pornographic sites, or even job-hunting sites while at work.

35. “The Office” on NBC. Safety and health info. Length: 1:03

36. 8.5 Health Issues Kennedy B. Mateo

37. 8.5 Health Issues • Manufacture and Use of Computers • Possible Health Problems: • Radiation exposure from computer terminals • Toxic wastes from discarded computer parts • Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) from frequent use of keyboards and other automated gadgets

38. 8.5 Health Issues • What is RSI?Repetitive Strain Injury • Some Possible Causes: • Extended use of computer terminal and/or mouse • Extended use of automated system (e.g. bar-code scanner) • Improper user technique or posture • Poor ergonomic work area • Who gets RSI? • Someone whose work requires repetitive hand motion • Computer users are the newest significant group of RSI suffers. • Ergonomic Solutions • Ergonomically-designed keyboard and mouse • Ergonomically-designed work area • Retraining proper technique (including rest breaks)

39. 8.5 Health Issues Microsoft Traditional Design Microsoft Ergonomic Design Source of Pictures: Newegg.com

40. 8.5 Health Issues Microsoft Traditional Design Microsoft Ergonomic Design Source of Pictures: Newegg.com

41. 8.5 Health Issues

42. 8.5 Health Issues • The Role of Management • Be proactive with health issues. • Give credence to employee complaints. • Money spent to prevent injury is less than money needed for treatment. • Study and modify work tools and procedures to reduce or prevent RSI.

43. 8.5 Health Issues • Legal Issues • Linking keyboard usage to RSI is not clear. • Conclusive scientific studies have not been done. • Should input device makers be held liable for injuries? • Should OSHA set legally binding standards for keyboards? • (Discussion at the end.)

44. 8.5 Health Issues Health Warning Label from keyboard maker:

45. 8.5 Health Issues(Australian Epidemic) • In the early 1980s, Australia experienced a sudden epidemic of RSI. The number of cases reported in one state of Australia more than quadrupled in a five-year period (1979-1984). • Because of the odd characteristics of the epidemic, this study and others are considered hysteria, a phenomenon where the physical symptoms are real, but the causes are psychological—what we informally call the power of suggestion.

46. 8.5 Health Issues(Education and Choices) • Employees should learn the proper techniques for use of tools. • Employers should provide training for employees in proper use of tools. • Correctly choose what to do.

47. Class Discussion • 1. If more and more people started working from home (“teleworking”), how would that affect a community? Will being in the same area, doing errands locally, eating in local restaurants, and so on, generate an interest in the safety and vitality of the community? Or will teleworkers become more disconnected with the real world? • What about differences between work habits at home and work habits at the office? Is there a difference with the amount of productivity? • 2. What is your opinion on employee monitoring? Employers can monitor work, communications, physical locations, and internet activity of workers. All of this can potentially affect productivity, privacy, and morale. Should monitoring be limited? What are some suggestions? • Is web surfing an actual problem for employers, or is it a high-tech equivalent of reading a newspaper or listening to the radio at one's desk? • 3. Who should be liable for RSI-related injuries? The manufacturer, employer, or the workers themselves? • Also, is the manufacturer expected to produce a quality product? Should the employers have to research about the items they provide for their workers? Or should it be up to the worker to figure out if office equipment is safe?