Xjyuk

I work in a small manufacturing company on special projects that automate some processes (primarily design/drafting). This automation is mainly targeted at reducing error, establishing standards, and cutting costs on certain orders so that we can reduce price and become more competitive.

Now a problem I often face is that when I explain what I'm doing to some coworkers, some of them get a bit abrasive and accuse me of trying to put people out of work. Now I think I get their perspective but from my point of view, the more successfully automated we become, the more orders the company can bring in and therefore it should offset whatever "lost labor" there might be. Not to mention, I'm well aware that due to the nature of my industry, no Job could be Entirely Automatic; my intention is to enhance, not replace.

I really don't know a good way to react when people have this point of view. Really I'm quite proud of what I do and my work so I get more than a little irritated, I'd say I feel like I'm being vilified. What would be an appropriate and professional way to respond?

I faced this same problem for many years.

You have to constantly reinforce that you're "Increasing our capacity." Then if pressed, explain that the human component is the most valuable part, and that the company is currently wasting that value by assigning humans to repetitive tasks. Emphasize that if the company can increase capacity, then there will be more revenue and thus more budget for salary.

And, of course, middle and upper management are going to have to reinforce that message.

But the sad truth is also out there: There are staff who have no real skills, and they make a living by doing things that can be automated. You are a threat to them.

In your opinions, what would be an appropriate way to respond?

I suggest you try to avoid engaging in conversations of this sort with coworkers that take this the wrong way.

You can try to explain to them just how you did here. Tell them that your job is to enhance, not to replace, and that you are actually making their lives easier so they can be more productive. Perhaps give them some examples of things you've implemented that are currently helping them perform their work.

After that, if some coworker insists on accusing you or taking it the wrong way, then I suggest you stop the discussion and move on (I'm sure you have better, more important things to do).

Most of the tools I have developed over the years was to take away manual input and to use technology to store and use data in an easier way. Any of these tools put at least one person out of a job and sometimes many.

The fact is the business already recognized this and asked me to do something. Meaning that one of two things were going to happen.

1. The business would continue to operate inefficiently, margins go down, workers will be asked to do more in less time, and either the business goes under by competitors that have better processes or it teeters on and your prospects of a raise or promotion are almost none. Good employees at these businesses understand this and are in constant fear of losing their job, bad employees can't see the writing on the wall and are shocked when their department is cut in 1/4.




2. Management will simply hire someone else to do the automation. If they hire the wrong "person" to do this the company will still have poor margins, issues, and possibly cut jobs or go under. If they hire the right "person" to do this then this could save the company a ton of money, making them more profitable, and a good long-term employment opportunity. However the jobs directly impacted by the automation will expire, a company that does this well will hire more people for marketing, engineering, management and so forth - higher paying jobs and probably promotions to the people doing the automation.

There is literally nothing good you can say to a person who is doing work manually and you are automating it - when that person as no aspirations of moving forward in their job or career. The groups I have automated have usually went into two boats. The first is the stingy I won't help you automate my job. It takes me maybe an extra couple weeks of programming... Or the group openly helping out and saying what's the next thing I can do. Not saying everyone kept jobs but good employees that helped, I cannot remember one of them getting laid off. (The automation exercise usually is spotlighted due to "poor-performing" employees in an area. So often the exercise is to rid the company of these employees, not really due to the automation but due to their performance)

"I'm just doing my job, same as you are."

In terms of a professional response, that's all that's needed. You don't have to justify anything or go into detail. It's unprofessional of them to complain about that, and you're the wrong person to complain to.

When giving a professional response to an unprofessional aggressive question, it's best just to keep it short. Anything else invites discourse and potential argument.

If you find yourself in a situation where you have to answer to being a part of "automating jobs out of existence", the best thing you can do is to not try to sugar-coat or side-step the issue. Just tell them honestly what you're doing and ask the workers to bring concerns to their management.

This is really a failure of leadership in the organization and not your fault. Unfortunately, you probably need their cooperation to progress and so it ends up being your problem. If you find yourself unable to get cooperation, it might be time for a sensitive conversation with the leadership in your org.

The management should be providing some assurance to workers about the future of their jobs. The good news is that these kinds of transitions usually take significant time. There are opportunities to mitigate the harshness of the job losses by voluntary separation packages, attrition, re-training, or even just giving advance notice of job termination.

Even if management does nothing, the workers are still getting a gentle notification that their jobs might be gone. Your project is not "secret" or hidden from the workers, they now know that the future is in question. That's going to be hard to accept at first and you won't be able to say much to make them feel better.

You can point out that you're also putting people to work: people who help design and manufacture the automation machines, people who create the parts, people who mine the metals for the parts, people who market and sell the machines - all of those are people who also need jobs.

You are helping people do more with less, but there will always still need to be people to be involved in the process.

Now a problem I often face is that when I explain what I'm doing to
some coworkers, some of them get a bit abrasive and accuse me of
trying to put people out of work.

So stop telling them. If the subject comes up, explain to them that you're working on some automation without going into specific details.