How have Canadian workers reacted to technological and organizational changes in the workplace?
In the last few decades, competitive pressure has made technological changes paramount for many of the firms involved in manufacturing. The hard economic times that the world is experiencing have been instrumental in shaping the decisions made by companies. In as much as the technological shift may have been instigated by the need to change and optimize the production process, it has also been largely driven by the need to restructure the organizations.
The technological shift in the manufacturing industries may have come with an increase in profits through efficiency maximization; however, it does present a number of problems and disadvantages as well. For the labor force, technological advancement and integration in the manufacturing process has resulted in the threat to job security for the workers. This paper discusses the reaction of the Canadian workers to the technological and organizational changes in the workplace environment.
The introduction of technological alternatives is often met with resistance since they often bring about the loss of jobs for most of the workers. The introduction of the conscription in Canada back in 1919 saw the instigation of numerous revolts against the system. A number of changes had been proposed by the capitalist production system that was being adopted by companies (Babcock, 1990). The system focuses on mechanization, specialization and systematic management of the production process.
This was seen as a direct threat to the frontier laborers, who were unskilled and illiterate. The revolts served to express the sentiments of the workers, who saw a threat to their sources of livelihood. For the immigrant laborers, the reaction to the proposed changes was met with anger and conflict (Conley, 1989). There were conflicts between workers and capitalists within Vancouver, as workers tried to fight for their positions.
The change was looked at as a deliberate move to eliminate the frontline laborers. The process of learning a craft was long and mostly practiced by families thus learning the craft was not an option for them. Strikes and class conflicts thus became a way of expressing their anger against technological changes.
In the contemporary society, however, many Canadian organizations, challenges of productivity optimization have been experienced in relation to the ongoing changes in the global economy. As a result, technological innovation has been on the rise in driving modern organizational change to adjust to the global market dynamics.
Although the Canadian firms may depict a slower rate of automation in the workplace as compared to countries such as Japan, a great proportion of the Canadian working force has been impacted by the change. Thousands of Canadians have lost their jobs even as more companies continue to restructure and adopt technological innovations.
One major change or impact that has been realized in the Canadian labor market as a result of the technological changes and adoption has been in relation to the increase in demand for higher worker skills. This effect has resulted in the loss of jobs for workers whose role can be automated or outsourced.
The Canadian labor force depicts the resilient nature of human beings. Some of the reactions of the Canadian workers have allowed them to keep up with the demands of the changing needs of the market. According to recent statistics, a staggering 90% of the companies in Canada have reengineered their organizations. Most of the companies have committed their resources to the acquisition and integration of advanced technologies.
For the large organization and those with links to foreign companies, they have experienced technological innovation in the recent years. This has come at a cost to the labor force in Canada. Employees in most organizations are faced with innumerable drastic changes. The onset of the technological innovation and adoption can be traced back to the 1980s, which were characterized by the large-scale automation of the office space.
According to Statistics Canada, the percentage of employees who used computers rose from one-quarter to 48% between the 80s and 1994 (Jackson, 2010). The proportion of Canadian companies that utilize advanced technologies has not only grown but also enhanced the sophistication of the technologies from single-based applications to multi-use networks.
One of the reactions that the Canadian workforce has showcased is in relation to the learning process. There has been a spontaneous expansion of the informal co-worker learning network. Most of the workers have taken up the responsibility of learning new skills that are being demanded in the labor market. There has been a rise in on-job professional development with most of the workers opting to beef up their skills as a result of the technological innovation in most organizations. Owing to the fact that the number of jobs has reduced, the available jobs pay low wages to the workers. The automation has thus made a significant number of Canadian workers to look for more than one job as a way of surviving.
A staggering 8% of the Canadian workforce is reported to have more than one job as means of keeping afloat. With many jobs paying less than ten dollars an hour, it is inevitable for people to seek new jobs in a world that is hampered by financial crises. The work-life conflict for the Canadian workforce has also increased. This has been greatly influenced by the adoption of technological innovations by most companies according to a research by Duxbury and Higgins (2001). There has been an increase in the time spent working for many workers, and this has been made possible by technology. Many workers have opted to carry home their jobs, and this has had a negative toll on their health, job satisfaction, and familial responsibilities.
The impact of the increasing conflict in the work-life balance has not been left to the home environment alone. The companies have also been bitten even as more employees remain absent from their places of work in an attempt to meet family and personal needs. In a competitive market structure, this becomes a hindrance to optimal productivity and competitiveness (Jackson, 2010).
For the Canadian workforce, there has been a general increase in terms of the skill content for most of the jobs. Professional and technical occupations have continued to increase with the adoption of new technology in most companies. The advancement of technology continues to impact the daily life of people.
For the working classes, such as those in Canada, technological advancement posits an ever-present threat to their job security. Relative to the reaction of technological innovation in 1919, which was characterized by revolts and strikes, workers in Canada have learned to keep up with the demands of the labor force even with the ever-present technological change. The evidence of this fact can be seen in the number of individuals that have opted to go back to learning in an effort to upgrade their skill set in a technological savvy labor market. Some have even opted to work in more than one job, in an effort to sustain their families. However, that has taken a toll on the health of Canadian workers, and even led to low job satisfaction. Work-life balance has also been lacking in the recent years, because of the pressure to work in more than one job.
References
Babcock, R. H. (1990). Saint John Longshoremen During the Rise of Canada's Winter Port,1895--1922. Labour / Le Travail, 25, 15-46.
Conley, J. R. (1989). Frontier Labourers, Crafts in Crisis and the Western Labour Revolt: TheCase of Vancouver, 1900-1919. Labour / Le Travail, 23, 9-37.
Duxbury, Linda, and Chris Higgins, (2001) Work-Life Balance in the New Millennium: Where
Are We? Where Do We Need to Go?, Canadian Policy Research Networks, Ottawa.
Jackson, A. (2010). Work and labour in Canada: Critical issues. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press.
