Why automate? #

Automation is an inevitable part of our future. Computers have already helped us automate repetitive work that unnecessarily bothered our minds. Simple and more complex math operations, data categorisation and searching, project management, tax management and many more. Alleviating us from the menial work was the first task of computers ever since their beginning. What previously took minutes or hours of unsatisfying work started taking less than a second with the help of a basic computer. Computers since then evolved and started covering ever large area of work, be it photo, video or music editing. Computers also expanded into new areas like entertainment, education, communication or even art and design.

I am a fan of the original purpose of computers: automation. There’s always a need for automation. As new areas of work appear, so do new needs for automation.

Highlights

• Automating mundane work frees employees to do more of the creative or the personal, face to face work that the computers can’t do

• Save time and therefore money

• Make people happier because they have more space to be creative and develop new skills

• Shifts work dynamic from quantity to quality

What’s not automation for? #

Automation makes things easier but it shouldn’t be relied upon in certain areas. Internal feedback can be collected from company members but overall people need to be seen and heard by other human beings. Automation shouldn’t make people feel less human. Automation should be a tool on the side, a set of processes and checkmarks so that things are fair, consistent and transparent. But it shouldn’t take the human dimension out of it, in fact automation should create more time and space exactly for these things. By automating repetitive tasks, we should have more time for each other and get to know each others expectations, worries and desires.

Automation also shouldn’t make you lazy. Automation of repetitive work should make you free for higher quality, more creative tasks. It should be a shift from quantity to quality. You might end up working less in terms of hours spent, but you should end up achieving more than before.