Is Technology the Main Driver for Social Change in The World of Work? Or Are We Forced to Believe This?

Over the last 40 years, we have a seen a drastic increase in the use of technology and the advancements
that have come with it. Hyman (2018) suggests that “we are taught that technological innovation drove
social change and radically reshaped the world of work.” And this is a popular view that people take on
technology’s relationship with social change, mainly due to the importance of technology today.
However, there is a lot of reason why this narrative is wrong, and why social change is in fact driven by
decisions we make on how to organize our world. Technology accelerates and consolidates social
change (Hyman 2018).

The Theory of Social Shaping of Technology

The theory of Social Shaping of Technology (SST) argues that social, organizational and cultural
processes shape technologies. Technologies do not just have impacts; they are themselves outcomes of
social processes. Cowan (1985) suggests that many technologies are abandoned for non-technical
reasons, for example, the gas fridge was technically superior, but the electric fridge had powerful
backers such as large companies supplying the electric fridge not the gas fridge. This reinforces the
argument that technology being the main reason for social change isn’t valid. Technologies are always
mediated through particular social settings (Williams and Edge 1996) and social processes must occur
before it can make an impact.

Technology Determinism

A mainstream perspective on technology and social change is technological determinism. This theory
views technology as an autonomous force that causes social and organizational changes. It is an
appealing view as it fits well with mechanistic views of organization, which dominate mainstream
thinking, along with the view that all problems can be eradicated by means of technology. Dafoe (2015)
suggests how over time social order is becoming more machine like due to people’s insufficient
conscious of their technological choices. Which shows how technology can be autonomous due to the
“tempo of scientific and technological advance (technological trends) that seems to follow an internal
logic” (Dafoe 2015). However, technology determinism tends to treat technology as having its own
independent existence rather than being the product of human thought and action. Also, it can fail to
account for the fact that technologies cannot adapt themselves into willing organisations and the
impacts of the same technology can vary across different contexts.

Social Change Through The Industrial Revolution

An example of social change can be shown through the industrious and Industrial Revolution, where
technology consolidated the change and development over these periods. However, the main driver
during this change was the nature of work. During the industrious revolution work and home life
became separate, and this changed people’s relationship to work as they no longer controlled how they
worked (Hyman 2018). The industrious revolution “was a necessary precondition for the Industrial
Revolution” (Hyman 2018), due to the important changes that occurred. It led workers under one roof
where labour was divided and could be supervised, which was a change from people working where they lived, for example at a farm or a shop (Hyman 2018). Hyman (2018) then explains that due to the
changes between people and their work, it allowed factory technology to consolidate the development,
and allow for the Industrial Revolution and technological advancements to occur.

Hyman assumes that the nature of work was the main driver, and that technological advances were a
result of these changes, however, Wilkinson (2020) presents that some key examples of the forces
driving change revolve around technological advances. For example, the production of fabrics was
fundamental to Britain’s economic development during the Industrial Revolution, with the organization
of cotton production going from small-scale to a large factory-based industry. The productivity boom
began with some technical devices such as the power loom, which operated firstly through human, then
water, and finally steam power (Wilkinson 2020). This is a prime example of how technology may have
been the main driver for social change during the Industrial Revolution. Also, experimentation in the 18th
century led to advances in metallurgical methods. “For example, a certain type of furnace that
separated the coal and kept it from contaminating the metal…made it possible to produce larger
amounts of wrought iron.” (Wilkinson 2020). Overall, Wilkinson presents a very factual piece of writing
that addresses that technology was a major part of the Industrial Revolution and therefore social
change.

Gig Economy

The recent rise of the gig economy has had a great impact on the world of work and is a major social
change that technology has played a part in. However, it’s worth stressing that the “technology” of
temporary work and the possibility of replacing entire work forces with it existed for years before
corporations made the decision to start adopting it (Hyman 2018). Also, Shane (2017) suggests that
“rigorous scholarly research reveals that the gig economy’s growth stems largely from employers’
interest in contract employment”. This supports the argument that technology is not the main driver for
social change in the world of work, but decisions employers have made to improve their business is.
Technology has aided these changes, for example, Uber’s technology is helping to solve the business and
consumer problems of an already insecure work world. Uber is a symptom, not a cause (Hyman 2018).

However, Shane (2017) also suggests “the popular perception is that (the gig economy) has been driven
by millennials’ use of online intermediaries like Uber and TaskRabbit”. Which suggests that the
introduction of businesses such as Uber was a main driver in the gig economy social change, and that
other factors weren’t as much of an importance to the rise of temporary work. However, even though
these new businesses provide convenience for customers, they were created in a reaction to employers’
interest in contract employment, and consumer new consumer wants and needs.

To Conclude

To conclude, technology is a pivotal part of society and social change and has really helped speed up
social change such as the Industrial Revolution and is constantly improving the world we live in today.
However, I believe that the main driver for social change is the decisions that we make about how to
organize our world, and only then can technology aid the changes and speed up the process. How will
you deal with future social change? Will you make decisions to advance technologies? Or will you let
someone else do it?

References

Cowan, R. 1985. The Social Shaping of Technology: How the Refrigerator Got Its Hum. Open University
Press.
Dafoe, A. 2015. On Technological Determinism: A Typology, Scope Conditions, and a Mechanism.
Science, Technology, & Human Values 40(6), pp. 1047-1076.
Hyman, L. 2018. It’s Not Technology That’s Disrupting Our Jobs. The New York Times 18 Aug, p. SR5.
Shane, S. 2017. What’s Behind the Growth of the Gig Economy? Available at: What’s Behind the Growth
of the Gig Economy? – Small Business Trends (smallbiztrends.com) [Accessed: 13 December 2020].
Wilkinson, F. 2020. Industrial Revolution and Technology. National Geographic Society 9 January.
Available at: Industrial Revolution and Technology | National Geographic Society [Accessed: 13
December 2020].
Williams, R. and Edge, D. 1996. The Social Shaping of Technology. Research Policy 25(6), pp. 865-899