Future of Work OR Future of Workers?

The Manufacturing sector and esp. workers are in the precarious space today.

Even after almost three decades of liberalisation of the economy, the industrial relations in manufacturing are far from being peaceful and cordial. There are many reasons for this:

1. While the employers have moved to the capitalist regime – and would like to treat labour as a fungible & flexible resource in the business, there is absence of mechanism/s to deal with the economic and social implications of labour displacement. The workmen and the unions continue to hold on to the ‘life time employment’ model, that makes the conflict inevitable.

2.  Now that the power balance post liberalisation has shifted in favour of the employers, they have devised a convenient definition of employee engagement - absence of conflict. Thus, if a factory does not have any mandays lost due to IR issues, managers pat themselves for creating engaging environment. But the reality beneath this superficial uneasy peace could be very different. Issues such as ballooning contract labour force, demands for union recognition, mistrust during factory closure / shifting etc. are waiting to explode.

3. Across the countries, there is widening gap between the industrial growth and unemployment. That means, either new jobs are not created or current education system does not prepare the young talent adequately for these industrial jobs. There are steps being taken by the government and industry through skill building programs. However, the psychological fall out of this is- increased insecurity among the current workers on potential unemployment.

4.  As the organisations have grown profitably in last few decades by reaping benefits of the pro-industry policies and the business environment, the instances of labour market inequities are on the rise. Recent studies indicate that the top layers in the organisations have benefitted the most with the organisation growth. This creates a sense of injustice and feeling of isolation among the lower levels.

5.  We now have young workers who are born in the post-liberalisation period in India. They are educated, well informed, tech-savvy and most importantly ambitious to grow in their careers. They don’t want to get restricted to the ‘blue collar’ category of jobs for entire work life. Not many organisations have taken this phenomenon on board and worked on the job design and chalked out career paths workers.   

Today we all are debating on the ‘Future of Work’ – in terms of next wave of disruptions, its impact on jobs and mechanisms to deal with it.

Specific to manufacturing, there are three disruptions that would impact the workers: 

a) Artificial intelligence / automation b) Outsourcing c) Localisation. 

The impact of these disruptions are varying. For example, interventions such as AI/automation take place over a period of time – have more relevance for certain sectors. However, localisation (i.e. a country / company deciding to stop manufacturing good outside the home country) can have immediately large scale impact on the employment.

It is just not the employers who are studying this closely. Many labour unions have started debating the ‘Future of Work’ and likely impact. In their view, it is not about ‘Future of Work’ but ‘Future of Workers’. And rightly so.

So, if the companies decide to focus on Future of Workers, what can they work on? In my view, there are 4 areas that require immediate attention:

1.       Careers & lifelong learning:

No one can protect the workers / employees from the market forces beyond a point. However, the employers (with support from the government) can upskill the workers so that they can withstand the waves of technology / localisation / outsourcing disruptions. That will also help the workers become self-reliant, build careers rather than focusing on one single job.

Designing career paths for workers can address the aspirations of the millennial workers. By deploying the basic principles of talent management, management can invest into the ‘hi-po’ workers and enable them climb up the career ladder.

2.       Workplace Democracy:

Perception of change creates insecurity, uncertainty and fear. If this is not handled well, we have seen it resulting in protracted industrial strife. Allowing employees to air their views, having participatory decision making forums, respecting dissent, efficient grievance redressal mechanisms are essential for a healthy workplace. Contemporary and mutual trust based employee policies build strong foundation of relationship between with the organisation.

The managers of the organisation (both line and HR) should be trained on dealing with the dissent and conflicts.

3.       Diversity & Inclusion:

In many industrial conflicts, we find that the root of the issue was that the workers were not treated with trust, respect and dignity. We all have read about the alienation at work due to industrialisation.

Employers will have to make extra efforts and take affirmative steps to ensure that employees of all gender, caste and capabilities are respected and provided equitable work environment. Identifying and removing the unconscious biases, training the supervisors in handling teams in a respectful manner, are few suggestions in this direction.

Given that most companies have significant contractual workforce, it is imperative that these employees are get provided all statutory benefits and are protected against all forms of exploitation & harassment. Few progressive companies invest into the upskilling of contract workmen – to help them find better jobs in the industry.

4.       Inclusive Growth:

In a conventional wage agreement, the wages and benefits may get revised without linking them to the business realities. The employers now will have to devise innovative reward programs such that the company performance is linked to the employee rewards & benefits and both work together towards mutually benefit goals.

Areas such as continuous education, co-sharing of healthcare cost, skill based premium, performance linked bonus etc. can be further explored.

Thus, rather than just focusing on the future of work per say, if we focus on the future of the workers, we can convert this into a great opportunity and build an inspiring place to work for everyone including the workers.