March 5, 2021
When it comes to technology in the workplace, many researchers have concentrated on automation. But new research from the ILR School shows how technology has further eroded the employer/worker relationship by making it easier to outsource work to temps.
“Routine tasks are easy to automate which means the demand for workers doing those tasks is going to fall, meaning wages are going to fall, too, until those jobs disappear entirely,” said Adam Seth Litwin, associate professor of labor relations, history and law. “But instead of focusing on that aspect, through this study we’re able to show that technology also makes it easier for employers to reassign work that was once done by traditional employees to workers at temp agencies.”