By John Arenas | November 25, 2013

Technology Will Get Your Job Faster Than You Think

Technology can shackle us or free us. It’s ours to decide.

It’s no news that technology is changing the corporate climate. It’s enabled a more diverse and widespread workplace and has allowed both companies and people to benefit as a result.

But it’s been harder to gauge technology’s affect on the job market. CBS consulted with MIT professors Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, who attribute technology and automation to our slow recovery from the economic recession.

This has happened at various points in our history, and the market has always been able to adapt and develop more jobs and industries in response; but Brynjolfsson and McAfee claim that this time technology is accelerating in a far more rapid pace than ever before. Can we keep up with it?

The folks at Slate seem to think so. They point to a lack of new skills as the problem, and they may have a point.

Here on The Inspired Worklife blog, we’ve encouraged the use of new technologies and online resources to enhance our professional and personal lives, and we’ve also encouraged readers to unplug from it. Technology can greatly advance our lives, but it is not what keeps us relevant.

Even the most advanced technology cannot match human creativity and the ability to develop new ideas—these are the things that can make real changes in the workplace. By adapting our corporate culture and mindset to use technology more efficiently and to inhabit a workplace that is healthier and more satisfying, people have the physical, psychological, and creative room to come up with game-changing ideas that will create new industries and skills.