Are robots the first enemies of workers? Well, if anything, it's the other way around. Indeed, if it is true that robotization advances globally by 25% every year, and this arouses more than one (legitimate) concern for employment scenarios, there would also seem to be an alternative to the more apocalyptic scenarios according to which, for example, already in 2022, one in five "routine" jobs will disappear due to digitization. Indeed, according to Minsait, a business unit of the Indra Information Technology group (Spanish multinational and second European industrial group in the sector by market capitalization), for each robot incorporated into the company it will even be possible to generate 3 jobs.
Technically, rather than robots we need to talk about "cobots", or robot-collaborators, who will not replace but will support human beings during their working day. According to Minsait, collaboration between humans and robots (collaborative robotics) is not a fad or a proposition for the future, but a real business model. In Italy, the growth of the sector seems to confirm this analysis: in 2018 the sales of robots recorded an increase of 11,5%, higher than the +7% average in Europe, according to the Italian Association of Robotics and the International Federation of Robotics.
There is therefore no doubt that the arrival of robots in the office will lead to a profound transformation of the labor market, but this could – indeed should – have positive implications. For example, the ability to take care of tasks that can be automated, which take away a large amount of time from workers, without interfering with other activities that are the exclusive heritage of human beings, because they require interpretation, judgment or creativity, it will make robots highly valuable partners, offering human beings the possibility to develop much more attractive and productive skills and competences.
The worker of the future will therefore put aside boring and repetitive tasks and will increase his productivity, dedicating himself to activities with greater added value. “This is how the "digiworkers" will be born – argues the analysis by Minsait -: qualified professionals who will coexist with robotic software with skills more oriented towards efficiency rather than the simple execution of functions”.
“It is important – adds Anna Gandolfi, head of Advanced Technologies at Minsait in Italy – not to be afraid of automation, rather the opposite: we must be prepared to live with 'cobots', who will help us carry out our duties and will be a key factor for professional development and business profitability. A key factor will be our receptiveness, as robotisation will introduce significant changes in skilled workers and these will potentially be very positive.”
Robotization is becoming indispensable for companies that aspire to improve the quality of their services, the customer experience and the efficiency of processes and operations. In fact, driven by technology and new digital solutions, the optimization of process management has become a key value to be the market leader. Having the best returns and the most popular products is no longer enough. New tools are needed that add value to the business by making operations more efficient. There's no going back: robots are coming, yes, but it doesn't necessarily mean it will be a problem.
