Human Resources Report: Robots, Workplace of Future, and Automation

This report provides a critical review of the International Federation of Robotics' positioning paper, 'Robots and the Workplace of the Future.' It examines how automation, particularly through the use of robots, is reshaping modern workplaces and the future of human resources. The report highlights the increasing integration of robots, machines, and algorithms, and their potential to create new jobs while also automating routine tasks. It discusses the skills gap that is emerging and the need for companies and educational institutions to adapt. The report references various studies and experts to explore the impact of automation on different industries, including healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing, emphasizing the importance of human-cyber-physical systems and the need for government policies to support training and education. The study concludes that while robots will continue to advance, humans will remain key to effective automation strategies, and workers will need to upskill or reskill to remain competitive.

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‘Robots and the Workplace of the Future’ is a positioning paper published by the
International Federation of Robotics Frankfurt, Germany in the year 2018. As the name
suggests, the paper has discussed on how robots are impacting the modern work and
workplace and how they are likely to take the place of human hands and minds in the future
workplaces. According the research paper, the rise of robots, machines and algorithms in
many of the modern workplaces stands for creating almost double the total number of jobs
for the global economy by the middle of the coming decade. This paper shall elaborate on
presenting a critical review on this research paper.
The rate of change has never been so fast like it is today, yet it will never be this slow
again in the future. The study by () have shed light on the fact that about nine-tenth of the
executives and managers surveyed by the MIT Sloan Management Review revealed that
certain would be influenced by the new technological, especially digital, trends to a moderate
to large extent. However, only 44% claims that the companies are adequately preparing
themselves to tackle with the change to come. This is why, a myriad of researches and studies
are conducted in this context. It is to mention that ‘Robots and the Workplace of the Future’
have reflected upon the gap prevailing in between the pace of change and the ways the
modern organisations are preparing for the same. While the current media has strongly
focused on how AI is likely to eliminate more number of jobs than it actually creates. () too
in this context have claimed that “there is no question that the companies are moving from a
private human capital talent pool of primarily full time workers to one also encompassing a
virtual pool of on-demand workers who are supplemented by the machines automating
routine tasks”.
According to the research paper, the robots have not just come down in the modern
workplace. They in fact are increasing their skills and moving up the corporate ladder while
demonstrating awesome rates of retention and productivity and significantly showing beside

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their human counterparts. An example to consider in this context can be the fact that one
multi-tasker bot from the Momentum Machines can make and flip a gourmet hamburger in
just 10 seconds and it has the potential of replacing an entire crew of McDonalds. Wajcman
(2017) too in his new study ‘Automation: is it really different this time?’ claims that robotics
and AI will soon ovetake the current economy.
As per the vision of Henry Ford, a great worker revolt is on the peak and this followed
by some new economic states where the human beings would live more entrepreneurial and
productive lives, subsisting on the guaranteed incomes that are generated by the amazing
machines (Skrabec, 2015). The logic behind his vision was that with the advancements in
technology it is becoming evident that the robots, algorithms, computers and machines are
going to able of doing majority of the routine and repetitive types of jobs. Similarly, the
research paper too has claimed this point to be a fact. Automation is already driving the job
creation today and the human labour would remain competitive in the near future too.
Furthermore, majority of the experts in the three industries (healthcare, logistics and
manufacturing) that are covered in the research paper predict a future where both machines
and human beings would work together.
The research report also claimed that automation can result in creating a rewarding
job profiles for the workers, especially in the three industries of healthcare, logistics and
manufacturing. Fantini, Pinzone and Taisch (2018) too have opined in this context that
different attributes of job profiles, would result from a focus on the effective human-cyber-
physical systems. These attributes include process planning, decision making, de-centralised
management structures, work in multi-disciplinary teams and worker autonomy in task. The
paper has also shed light on an important component in this regard. It has identified that the
governments would soon be required to develop certain policy incentives for encouraging the
corporate investment in training and stepping up their funding of education. They need to

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continue a trend in different nations of focusing through dialogue with the private sector on
training for the skills for which the demand is forecast and in the industries where the region
or country showcase some competitive advantage (Zhou et al., 2018). Furthermore, as per the
research study, the current rapid advancements in the software programming techniques that
are combined with the new motion technologies and vision are increasingly expanding the
scope of the robot applications. They are coming out in a way to work along with the human
beings. All this has a notable impact on how work and organisations would be structured in
the coming future.
It is clear from the research study that the human beings would always remain key to
the effective automation strategies which help in improving economic growth and
productivity. The rapid growth in technological change would change the job profiles,
requiring some of the workers to up-skill or re-skill either within their prevailing industry or
through a move to another sector. In the healthcare, logistics and manufacturing industries,
robot adoption could lead to more better-paid and fulfilling job. However, company must
design cyber-physical-human-systems that would give the human beings the autonomy
central to job satisfaction.

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References:
Fantini, P., Pinzone, M. & Taisch, M., 2018. Placing the operator at the centre of Industry 4.0
design: Modelling and assessing human activities within cyber-physical
systems. Computers & Industrial Engineering, p.105058.
Skrabec Jr, Q. R. (2015). Benevolent Barons: American Worker-centered Industrialists,
1850-1910. McFarland.
Wajcman, J., 2017. Automation: is it really different this time?. The British journal of
sociology, 68(1), pp.119-127.
Zhou, J., Li, P., Zhou, Y., Wang, B., Zang, J., & Meng, L. (2018). Toward new-generation
intelligent manufacturing. Engineering, 4(1), 11-20.