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Jenn Pincher September 30, 2013 Susan Lago Essay Two: Portfolio Draft Technology and the Alteration of Work Where is my cell phone?! Do not tell me I left it in the car, my day would be a complete drag! Sound familiar? I think most of us can relate in some way or another, panicking and throwing a temper tantrum every time we forget our all knowing piece of technology. Even if you deny being overly attached to any of the devices created now a days that does not make you immune to the side effects that they are placing on us. From the replacement of human employees, to the alteration of work values, the changes that people are experiencing in the workplace is due to the rapid expansion of an electronic age. Our past work ethic no longer holds an important position in our mind, rather it has evolved into something much different than we even realize. We no longer find passion in the work we do, instead we give higher praise towards people who have the drive to obtain success; the people who have the capability to keep up with the pace of each stride technology makes. As technology advances, the faster our society will function, which will not only make it harder for people to maintain and adapt to a career, but also completely change our work ethic. Ones future is no longer set in stone; we must learn to become accustom to change. Change is what fuels our workforce; not pride or passion like it was in the past. Jobs that used to be done by man; someone who might have had great enthusiasm in the work they did, are now being replaced by faster and more efficient machines. No longer do we have the secure, loyal mindset when acquiring a job, but instead we have the fear and anxiety of losing that job each

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and every day that passes. In Sennetts No Long Term: New Work and the Corrosion of Character, there was a man named Enrico who never had to work under pressure; he lived under past work values. He spent the past forty years working as a janitor. He carved out a clear story for himself in which his experience accumulated materially and psychically; his life thus made sense to him as a linear narrative, (Sennett 308). This means that he knew exactly what he was going to be doing the rest of his life; that he did not have to live with the insecurities people have in todays workplace. Since the work environment in which Enrico lived was hardly influenced by technology, he did not have the fear of being replaced by machines, so he was able to focus on doing his job well and take pride in it. Lower end jobs, such as the one Enrico had, are now the type of jobs that robotics are being used for. I know this, because I interviewed my twenty-eight year old brother, Mike, who was working at a Shop Rite and has had the experience of getting replaced by non-human cashiers. After I asked him if he was secure in the job he has now, he responded, Each job that I have acquired over the years, after the incident with Shop Rite, has never made me believe I was going to stay there for more than two years. Im afraid that I might wake up one day and not have a job to pay my rent. People, like Mike, are the ones getting the most affected by our technological advances. The simpler the job, the more likely it is to be replaced by machinery. There is no wonder why our work ethic lacks pride, because it is difficult to find a lower end job that gives someone the security of another workday. You cannot take pride in something you do not trust. The relationship between technology and our past work ethic is obvious. Due to the expansion of technology, our security blanket has been taken away, making it much more difficult to find pride in the work we do.

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People today are forced to constantly adapt their life style to the environment they find themselves in; always having to learn new techniques and skills to keep their job. Our fixation on technology not only causes society to operate in a rushed state, it questions the reason of a consistent work schedule. As new technologies emerge, businesses feel constantly obligated to upgrade to the most efficient, beneficial equipment. As good as this may sound, the incorporation of new equipment makes it so employees have to consistently learn new work habits; making it difficult to maintain a persistent work schedule and adapt to a work environment. To gain more insight on the topic, I have interviewed several people, all of whom have many years of experience in the workplace. My dad, Jeff Pincher, is a fifty-three year old father of four, who has spent twenty-eight years in the field of mechanical engineering. His work day consists of repairing/building machines, and training people how to use the equipment. When I asked him if work was becoming more difficult to adapt to, he responded with an immediate yes, saying, We are always coming out with the next best machine, the next best equipment. Its almost as if we dont have time to get used to one device, before we move on to the next. Its not easy for us fifty year olds. Not only does he mean that technology is disrupting a persons ability to adapt in the work place, he does not have a consistent work method. The machines he assembles and repairs are constantly changing on him. I have had to learn to use new machines, with technology I have never seen before. Its been changing the way I have been working, and I have been working at the same company, doing the same stuff, for almost thirty years! The reason behind the trouble of adaptation in society is evident. Since we are so reliant, so obsessed with technology, the advancement of it not only changes the device itself, but how we go about our lives on a daily basis.

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Looking back over the interview questions, I do not feel optimistic. I am scared that I am not going to be able to cope with the pressure of change; that I am not going to be able to adapt to my environment. Even my father is struggling to adapt to the work environment, and he has been working for over forty years! As a future contributor to society this is a lot for me to take in. I have never realized just how much technology distorted the way we operate. Being an art major, I thought I would be safe from having to adapt to these changes, more so than any other major. I use paper and whatever drawing material that I desire; I have no need to use technology in my everyday work. To gain more knowledge about my future, I decided to interview my old adult school professor, Jane Smith. Having thirty one years in the field of art, she described to me in significant detail the expectations I should find once heading out into the work place. The art industry, from now to when you were in kindergarten, is much different, she says to me, the use of materials outside of the computer are becoming more and more obsolete because technology gives us a more efficient, mess free way of doing things. I was shocked to believe that even a career choice, like art, would have adaption issues similar to those my dad has. From the insecurity issues, to the adaption problems we seem to be having in society, I am quite concerned with my future, as should anyone else be entering the workplace. Being completely oblivious about the technological advances our world has taken over the past fifty years; I have always considered them to be a step in the right direction; believing that the more knowledge we have invested in our electronics, the easier life will be for all people. I was wrong. The more our minds become familiar operating and utilizing various forms of machinery, the more technologically obsessed we will be. Although some may believe that change within the work place is necessary, that still does not hide the fact that a countless number of people, like my dad and brother, are struggling to adapt and feel secure within their

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jobs. We, as a society, need to start viewing technology in a different light. We have to recognize that although having a vast expenditure of technology can be exceptionally useful, it can completely alter our work values and even rewire our everyday work habits. I can only hope that one day we can look back to the days where working was passionate, and incorporate those work values to the ones we have today.

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Works Cited Sennett, Richard. No Long Term: New Work and the Corrosion of Character. The Changing Landscape of Work in the Twenty-First Century. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. Upper Saddle River: 1998. 307-315. Print.

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Interview questions 1. How has the work place changed from the past to current day? 2. How have you learned to adapt to these changes? 3. Do you believe that the work ethic changed due to technology? 4. Do you feel secure in your work environment? People I interviewed Jeff Pincher- Hunter Engineering Mike Pincher- Former Shop rite worker Jane Smith- Graphic teacher/ Adult school professor