Deskilling

Deskilling is the process by which skilled labor within an industry or economy is eliminated by the introduction of technologies operated by semiskilled or unskilled workers. This results in cost savings due to lower investment in human capital, and reduces barriers to entry, weakening the bargaining power of the human capital.[1]

Deskilling can also refer to individual workers specifically. The term refers to a person becoming less proficient over time. Examples of how this can occur include changes in one's job definition, moving to a completely different field, chronic underemployment (e.g. working as cashier instead of accountant), and being out of the workforce for extended periods of time (e.g. quitting a position in order to focus exclusively on child-rearing).[2]

It is criticized for decreasing quality, demeaning labor (rendering work mechanical, rather than thoughtful and making workers automatons rather than artisans), and undermining community.[3]

Examples

Examples of deprofessionalization can be found across many professions, and include:

  • assembly line workers replacing artisans and craftsmen[1]
  • CNC machine tools replacing machinists
  • automatic espresso machines replacing skilled baristas
  • doctors; the M.D. is being replaced by "Health Care Providers"
  • bank-clerks being replaced by ATMs
  • nurses
  • pharmacists
  • social workers
  • librarians
  • teachers
  • shop workers

Impact

Work is fragmented, and individuals lose the integrated skills and comprehensive knowledge of the crafts persons.[4]

In an application to the arts, Benjamin Buchloh defines deskilling as "a concept of considerable importance in describing numerous artistic endeavors throughout the twentieth century with relative precision. All of these are linked in their persistent effort to eliminate artisanal competence and other forms of manual virtuosity from the horizon of both artist competence and aesthetic valuation."[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Braverman, Harry (1974) Labor and monopoly capital. New York: Monthly Review
  2. ↑ Definitions of Deskilling. Viewed February 5 2016 at http://www.thefreedictionary.com/deskilling and http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/deskilling
  3. ↑ Lerner, Sally (1994) "The future of work in North America: Good jobs, bad jobs, beyond jobs". Futures, 26(2):185-196. DOI 10.1016/0016-3287(94)90108-2.
  4. ↑ "Online Dictionary of the Social Sciences". Retrieved 2007-04-08.
  5. ↑ Buchloh, Benjamin (2006). Gabriel Orozco: Sculpture as Recollection. Gabriel Orozco. Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes (Mexico). London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 9780500976715. OCLC 137216179.

Further reading

  • Wood, Stephen (December 1981). Degradation of Work Skill, Deskilling and the Braverman Debate. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-09-145401-8.
  • Foster, Hal (March 2005). Art Since 1900 Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-23818-9.
  • Beatrice Edwards. "Deskilling AND Downsizing: Some Thoughts About The Future Of Technical Education". Retrieved 2007-04-08.
  • Mahmoud Kashefi. "Deskilling or Upgrading? The Transformation of Skills Required in the United States Economy Since World War II".


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