How ICT has led to changing work patterns

Information technology has led to many changes in how we work, where we work and even when we work. It has had a dramatic effect on our working lives.

Today, customers expect even the smallest of businesses to have a professional, informative . Businesses that have failed to embrace the advancement of communications and ICT have put themselves at a disadvantage.

It is now common for adverts to include a address in addition to, or even instead of a phone number.

Impact on employment

The introduction of information technology has caused some unemployment, for example:

computer-controlled warehouses need only a handful of staff to operate them
computer-controlled robots are now common on production lines, replacing human workers
the old skills of workers in the printing industry are now out-of-date
some jobs have disappeared as they can now be done automatically, eg marking multiple choice exam papers

However, it is fair to say that the development of information technology has led to many new jobs such as computer technicians, programmers, web designers and systems analysts.

Learning on the job

IT is more likely to have changed someone's work rather than led to them losing their job. People in certain professions have had to be retrained to make use of modern technology:

Secretaries now use word processors and not typewriters.
Travel agents book holidays by computer, not by phone or letter.
Telephone banking has meant that many bank staff now work by phone in front of a computer, instead of being in a branch, behind a counter.
De-skilling has taken place. Some jobs which needed a high level of skill in the past can now be done more easily. For example, print workers today can use to lay out their work.
Designers now use rather than pencil and paper on a drawing board.

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Social and environmental impactHow ICT has led to changing work patterns