Why People Are Afraid That Robots Will Take Their Jobs

A lot of ink has been spilled over automation in the workforce lately. It’s a shared sentiment that’s resonating and disturbing working people in the United States.

Americans expect that robots and computers will most likely perform jobs that are currently done by humans. Workers whose jobs primarily involve manual labor are particularly worried and have expressed concern about automation posing a threat to their future employment.

On the other hand, workers in government, education and nonprofit sectors are less concerned as they thought robots and computers would definitely replace them in the next 50 years or so.

Pew Research is hardly the first organization to cover automation or to hit on the unease it provokes in some workplaces. Researchers predicted that 47% of jobs in the United States could eventually be “computerized” and laid out the careers most at risk of automation (i.e. telemarketers, title examiners and hand sewers).

While it’s easy for machines to perform pattern-based tasks, humans are far better when it comes to jobs that require interaction with other people. With that in mind, fields where automation is expected to make inroads demonstrate that they are more likely that machines would only perform aspects of jobs currently done by humans rather than take them over completely.

Are you still worried? Time to take a look at the ten jobs that Oxford University identified as being the least susceptible to automation;

Recreational therapists,
First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers and repairers,
Emergency management directors,
Mental health and substance abuse workers,
Audiologists,
Occupational therapists,
Orthotists and prosthetists,
Healthcare social workers,
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons,
First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers.