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Japan – Workers least concerned about automation

03 March 2015

Japanese workers are most confident that their jobs will not become automated over the next 10 years when compared with European, North American, and Global averages, according to recruitment firm Randstad.

Only 23.5% of Japanese workers are concerned about automation, compared with 25.5% of Europeans, 27.4% of North Americans. The Japanese sentiment is even more impressive when compared with the Asian average of 59.1% concerned about losing their job to automation.

Satoshi Saruya, Vice President of Randstad K.K., commented: “Technologically advanced, Japan has a history of exporting its technology and products all over the world. Moreover, compared to other countries, Japan leads the way in the appliance of automating jobs on production lines. I believe Japanese workers’ belief that their job will not be automated within the next 10 years is due to their early exposure of operations running efficiently.”

“The work environment is undergoing a dramatic transformation, triggered by an ageing society, a decreasing population, and rapid globalisation. Under these circumstances, workers need to understand their strengths, and continually polish their skills. Through talent development programs, it is important for workers to develop a sense of their value and personal brand in order to compete with the risk of automation of certain jobs,” he added.

Across Asia, Indian workers are most concerned about automation, with 70% believing that their current job will be automated within the next decade. This compared with 38.1% of Chinese workers and 60.2% of Malaysian workers.

Female workers are slightly more confident than their male counterparts when it comes to automation. Just under a third (32.7%) of female workers worldwide believe that their job will be automated in the next 10 years, compared with 35.9% of male workers.