A recently published study found that robots will eliminate 85 million jobs in medium and large companies over the next five years as the Covid-19 epidemic accelerates changes in the workplace, which is likely to exacerbate conditions.

A survey of more than 300 global companies found that executives in 4 out of 5 companies are speeding up plans to "digitize work," applying new technologies and squandering the employment gains that have occurred since the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition to the future of work," said Saadia Zahidi, managing director of the World Economic Forum, in charge of the study, according to Reuters.

The study found that workers who will keep their roles in the next five years will have to learn new skills half of them, and that by 2025, employers will divide their work equally between people and machines.

Generally, job creation is slowing as job destruction accelerates as companies around the world use technology rather than humans to enter data, account and management tasks.

The Geneva-based forum said the good news is that more than 97 million jobs will be created in the care economy in tech industries such as artificial intelligence and content creation.

"The tasks in which people will maintain their competitive advantage include management, consulting, decision-making, thinking, communication and interaction," he said.

Demand will increase for workers who can fill jobs associated with a green economy, cutting-edge data jobs, artificial intelligence, and new roles in engineering, cloud computing and product development.

The survey found that about 43 percent of the companies surveyed are preparing to reduce their workforce as a result of technological integration, 41 percent of them intend to expand their use of contractors, and 34 percent of them discussed expanding the workforce as a result of technological integration.

Source: Agencies

By:Nadeemy Haded