Fear of Becoming Obsolete

Episode No. 145

• August 16, 2024

As If We Didn't Have Enough to Worry About!

As if FOMO were not enough, now we consider FOBO, or the fear of obsolescence, in this climate of ever changing technology.

SHOW NOTES

Obsolescence is a reduction in our competence as an employee resulting from a lack of knowledge of new work processes, techniques, and technologies that have developed since we completed our education – and that we have somehow missed out on acquiring. As humans we have been becoming obsolete since we stood up on two feet – the hunter gatherers became farmers, the farmers became factory workers and the factory workers have become technology and service industry workers. We know how to do this – on the macro level, as an economy and society.

Trucking is a great example of worker obsolescence. In the early 20th century, truck drivers replaced the cart and horse for deliveries and now the promise of self-driving trucks, making truck drivers obsolete, has done a couple of things in the market – truckers are generally older and the wages have risen according to NPR.

The mysterious threats and impacts of workforce obsolescence : NPR. Older workers with less time in the workforce are willing to keep or go into these jobs, but younger workers with more time to work are far less willing to enter an occupation that may very well go away.

According to a recent Gallup Poll 22% of workers are worried that technological advancements will make their jobs obsolete, a 7% jump since 2021. The increase is being driven “almost entirely” by college-educated workers. The Gallup data shows that men and women currently express equitable trepidation levels when it comes to being replaced by technology. Good to know there is some equity in FOBO!

Fearing obsolescence is not just self-doubt, rather, we fundamentally question our ability to participate in the workforce. When we experience this kind of fear, it can affect our behavior at work and our experience of ease, meaning and joy. In a study of counterproductive work behaviors, researchers found some common counterproductive work behaviors in workers who were experiencing FOBO: attention-seeking behavior; being hypervigilant; and drawing unhealthy comparisons. We can counteract FOBO by focusing our efforts on training – either for the current job or a new one; taking on new opportunities, saying yes and telling yourself the truth about your skills and your current job and its future – and being willing to consider what is next.