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Will robots take over your job in Sweden?

Economics analyst Mårten Blix outlines how to make sure jobs are not lost when digitalization grows in tech-savvy Sweden and robots take over skilled labour.

Published: 13 October 2015 07:00 CEST
Will robots take over your job in Sweden?
Will jobs be lost to robots in tech-savvy Sweden? Photo: AP Photo/Vincent Yu

Jobs disappear and robots take over. Or everything remains as usual. These are two completely different scenarios for the future of the labour market. They cannot both be correct.

There is fairly broad consensus among economists that technology has so far been positive for work, but the question is what happens in the future. During the industrial revolution machines destroyed jobs. Among artisans, several crafts were replaced by machines and less skilled workers. But throughout the 20th century, technology and jobs have mostly reinforced each other and have led to need for better skills, higher wages and productivity.

Despite comprehensive automation and restructuring of the whole economy, work has not disappeared. However, there has been significant job polarization in many OECD countries in recent decades, resulting in a shrinking middle class.

In Sweden, this trend has so far taken place mostly through an increase of highly-paid jobs and strong real wage growth over the past 20 years. This is in contrast to the United States, where large groups have not received any increase in real wages over long periods of time. It is likely that the trend of job polarization will continue.

Is there a risk that large groups in Sweden will experience weak wage growth and that robots will take over? This will likely depend on how the challenges are managed – by politicians and by the labour market partners. In the long run, technological developments will lead to greater prosperity, but the path could be tumultuous if unwise decisions, or no decisions at all, are made.

READ ALSO: Why Sweden is a long way from six-hour days

People understandably treat the claims that robots are taking over with some scepticism, since many may not see any direct evidence of this in their own workplace. But the idea of a robot sitting at a desk (with a coffee cup) is misleading, when much automation is in fact about software in the cloud, physically located in some anonymous server hall. It is worth bearing in mind that today's smart phones have replaced a variety of devices and services you previously had to pay for: GPS navigation, music players, scanners, voice recorders and so on. The applications available via cloud services for managing huge amounts of data are well developed and could easily be used to replace human labour. Most people will probably be surprised at how much actually already has and easily could be automated.

Automation of simple services continues, but what is new is a wave of automation also for skilled work. It covers everything from simple services, legal services to administrative services. Research has identified the potential to automate jobs where tasks are repeated in a predicable manner and can therefore be programmed. Think about what tasks you encounter every day that are more or less predictable. They are increasingly often going to be automated.

Some real-life examples:

– Restaurants and hotels almost without staff; a machine cooking several hundred hamburgers per hour.

– Software can replace great numbers of junior lawyers, can grade essays in school and automatically generate text so well that it is difficult to see that it was not written by a human.


How should Sweden stop jobs being lost to robots? Photo: AP Photo/Peter Dejong

The limit of what can be automated can these days not even be drawn at the tasks that require creative or cognitive ability, such as composing music or researching empirical relationships.

The main driving force behind the ongoing trend for automation is the aspiration to create something better and more efficient. In Sweden and several other OECD countries this aspiration is reinforced by the fact that we are entering a period when many people are exiting the labour market for reasons of old age, while fewer young people are entering. Combined with skills mismatch in the labour market, this provides a strong incentive for automation. It is not a coincidence that Japan, with the oldest population in the world, may have taken the most steps in automation in the sector devoted to care of the elderly.

But even if technology allows an increasing degree of automation, other factors can sometimes be more significant. A considerable part of school education, for example, could be automated, but social norms and values can be more important. In some countries in Asia there are driverless trains, but so far no autonomous passenger flights. In healthcare, the demographic trend is probably a more important a factor than automation. A small country such as Sweden, with its own language and own institutional framework, also does not enjoy the same kind of benefits of economies of scale when it comes to automation.

What then is the sum of the various driving forces? Will 50 percent of today's professions disappear? This figure was presented in a report by Oxford researchers Frey and Osborne. The short answer is that this picture is incomplete and does not take into account that new jobs are being created all the time. Some existing jobs increase and new jobs that we cannot even imagine today are created. The question should instead be if the new jobs are being created at the pace needed.

GUIDE: How to negotiate your dream salary in Sweden

There is a real risk that we are facing a period of increased tensions in the labour market, particularly as wage bargaining for large parts of the economy is under way at a time with low confidence in the Riksbank's (Sweden's Central Bank) inflation target. The biggest income inequality is created by long-term unemployment, a risk that increases in times of rapid change. To ensure positive development while taking advantage of new technology and reducing its downsides, the following should be done:

1. Reduce the cost of labour by cutting taxes on (human) work. Sweden's high tax on labour unnecessarily increases the already strong incentive for automation. Tax deductions for household services should increase in scope rather than being slimmed down.

2. Facilitate the so called sharing economy by reducing uncertainty in how regulation is applied. Allow competition in the first instance by reducing unnecessary barriers rather than forcing digital companies into old regulation unsuited to a digital world.

3. Improve the opportunities for lifelong learning and make it easier for people to accumulate new knowledge. Without new knowledge the risk of being overtaken by technology increases, resulting in a risk for poorer prospects in the labour market.

4. Reduce the difference in social security systems between employees and self-employed.

These measures are good for the economy irrespective of how strong digitalization turns out to be. There will be new jobs when the robots take over our old ones – provided that politicians do not construct unnecessary obstacles.

This is a translated version of a debate article which originally appeared in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.

Mårten Blix, PhD in Economics, is a guest researcher at the Swedish Research Institute of Industrial Economics. He is a former secretary in the Commission on the Future of Sweden. He is working on a report on the effects of digitalization on the economy.

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READER INSIGHTS

How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who’ve been there, done that

The Swedish job market poses unique challenges for newcomers. The Local's readers share their best tips for cracking the career code.

Published: 10 April 2024 11:32 CEST
Updated: 13 April 2024 15:50 CEST
How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who've been there, done that

Network, network, network!

A statistic that often gets tossed around is that seven out of ten jobs in Sweden are obtained through personal connections, and there’s no doubt that a good network is crucial to your job hunt, making the labour market extra challenging for newcomers to the country.

In fact, networking was the main tip mentioned by The Local’s readers.

“The job market is quite hot in Sweden, and talent is in short supply. People hiring do not have a lot of time to find the right talent, and tips from friends, colleagues and former colleagues are the way to first, find out organisations are hiring, and secondly, get your CV on the short list,” said Kyle, a Canadian reader who works in innovation management in Gothenburg.

“If you are going for a major employer like Volvo, network gets you in the door, as HR does not have much to do with hiring… the hiring managers do all of it and have no time, due to the insane number of consensus meetings. If you are looking for smaller organisations, they have even less time to find people, and networking is their primary way to find talent,” he added.

NETWORKING IN SWEDEN:

Some of the networking tips readers mentioned were going to job fairs, getting an internship to help you establish connections in your preferred field, joining clubs (this could be anything from your local gardening association to meetups for coders, but focus on clubs that may be popular among people working in your chosen field), and drawing on your organic network of friends, neighbours and others.

Don’t neglect the groundwork

The saying “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” is getting worn out (and people may look at you funny if you turn up to interviews in a Batman suit), but there’s truth to the notion of making sure you know what you want – and preparing for it.

In other words, don’t wait for a job ad to appear before you start to customise your CV and figure out what skill set you need. Create your CV now so that you’re ready to tweak it to your dream job – you could even have a general look at job ads in your field to see what requirements are needed. And don’t forget to spruce up your LinkedIn profile so that it fits with your career goals.

“I believe that several factors contribute to successfully landing a desirable job in Sweden. It’s essential to prepare to meet the requirements beyond just having a university degree. Many individuals realise these requirements only after completing their studies when they start searching for a job, which can be too late,” said Adnan Aslam from Pakistan, who works as a food inspector.

“I recommend identifying the job advertisements for positions you aspire to hold in the future and then preparing for those requirements during your studies. For me, acquiring a basic level of proficiency in the Swedish language and obtaining a Swedish driving licence were crucial. I pursued these goals during my studies and was able to secure a desirable job before graduating,” he added.

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Felipe Cabral even has a GPT assistant trained on his own CVs and old cover letters, and said the set-up only takes ten minutes if you already have your documents. “With that in place, you can give instructions like: Read this job description and create a tailored version of my CV and letter for it. (…) Remember to always review and ask it not to create data aside from your documents.”

Be flexible and ready to adapt

Moving to a new place inevitably means having to learn not just the practicalities such as how to write a CV or which websites to use to look for job openings, but also learning how to navigate a new culture with all its unspoken expectations.

Swedish workplaces are generally less hierarchical than many other countries, but that doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want whenever you want without anyone raising an eyebrow. Swedes are usually direct, but be careful of being too abrasive or boastful: raising your voice, even during a spirited argument, or banging your own drum to show off your skills may not go down well.

“Talk, deliberate, complain like a Swede and you’ll come across like you know what the job entails, so your trustworthiness increases,” said an Indian data analyst who preferred to remain anonymous.

“Office politics are just as strong in Sweden as anywhere else. The flat hierarchy is deceiving as social hierarchy is enforced quite a bit in that lack of formal hierarchy. Take your time in learning these dynamics wherever you work before revealing your talent and capabilities. Expect those internal politics to happen, and they won’t hurt so much when they do,” said Kyle, the Canadian reader in Gothenburg.

This article about Swedish office politics may be useful.

Stay true to yourself

Adapting to your surroundings is one thing. Completely changing who you are is another.

For one thing, your happiness is as important as your career progression, and for another, your foreignness need not be an impediment: it’s also a skill that sets you apart from the rest. It means you have unique experience, and also, in the right setting, provides an opportunity to sometimes violate those social rules we mentioned above, because people assume you will, anyway.

“Trust is key. Build trust in your network, work with integrity. It’s OK to violate jantelagen if you are maintaining integrity. Sometimes your outsider and more honest/open opinion will burn bridges, especially those that may feel threatened by talent. But it will build trust with other colleagues who see it as brave and more trustworthy to work with,” said Kyle from Canada.

Hunker down for the long haul

We don’t want to scare you, because there are plenty of examples of people who quickly find their dream job in Sweden and settle into their new workplace, enjoying perks such as long summer holidays, generous parental leave and the famous work-life balance.

But if you do find it tougher than you expected: know that you’re not alone.

Several readers who responded to the survey said they were still trying to find a job in Sweden.

“I found jobs all over Europe but not here. They say they have a lack of experienced senior engineers but the don’t seem to be doing much to solve this,” said a Brazilian in Gothenburg.

A reader from Bangladesh said she was “at a loss” as to how to make a career change from her current AI role in Stockholm, despite many years of experience as an IT project manager.

“Over the past 18 months, I’ve submitted over 600 applications to various organisations. Unfortunately, despite being overqualified for some positions, I’ve faced rejections at every turn, from both large and small companies. The job market here, especially for foreign-born women, feels overwhelmingly challenging,” she said, adding that the struggle had impacted her mental health.

The Local has on several occasions reported on foreign residents’ struggle to get a foot on the Swedish job ladder, with many facing hurdles such as employers’ unfamiliarity with international degrees, discrimination, or a lack of network that can provide paths into a company.

So during the job hunt, don’t forget to care for yourself. Share your concerns with fellow job-seekers, ask for help and join networking groups – this is good not just for creating new contacts, but also in terms of your social well-being and meeting people who are in a similar situation.

And finally, as one British reader in Stockholm advised, keep looking: “Be open-minded with the opportunities that present themselves. It isn’t an easy market to enter and doesn’t feel inclusive.” But he added, “don’t give up”.

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