Labor and Leisure

One of the current big issues with employment is the exporting of jobs. So many types of work can be done remotely: software engineering, accounting, law research, mechanical engineering and much else.  This has the effect of creating a downward pressure on domestic wages and fees because workers are competing with foreign pricing.  Many employers farm out work on a task by task basis. Most of the new jobs created in Canada last year were part-time as I recall, and that is often suggestive of temporary work.  My assessment is that there is a great deal of job insecurity, and a lot of people, mainly millennials, are stressed about whether they will have work. It’s a transitional phase of the economy I think.

Next step is guaranteed income for everyone as artificial intelligence takes over much of the workload and many humans live in leisure. I expect that this will lead to huge individual stresses. We all have a deep and wide security need.  It is satisfied by knowing we are needed and valued. Sometimes we attain that through relationships, but often through our work. People that have no work will tend to feel useless --- marginalized.  And they will feel insecure. They will need to have strong and close relationships, but many won’t have those. To me, it seems like a time of great psychological and social stress coming.