If you work from home, will AI come and take your job? | by Brian Gallagher

An article on the Business Insider website quotes Stanford University economics Professor Nicholas Bloom as suggesting that remote workers –  effectively those who work from home (WFH) -  may lose their jobs to AI. Research suggests this may be the case, as we shall see. 

This is slightly alarming news. I myself work from home. Indeed, I even wrote about WFH including working from cafes (WFC) recently for those considering such a move. My dear readers – have I made you consider something that could put you out of a job? Should we all storm back to the office full-time, demanding our own desks (as opposed to hot-desking), lanyards, free hot drinks facilities, etc?

Probably not, at least for now. The Professor does clarify who is at risk. Hybrid workers – those who split their time between home and office – are somewhat less at risk, as meeting co-workers, managing or mentoring (even if only every other month) is not something AI can do. Roles that are completely WFH and repetitive are most likely to be replaced by AI. He informs us that data entry, call centres, payroll and HR are at particular risk.

I think that whilst those roles may be at risk, surely those who are working in the office doing such tasks are at equal risk of the chop – those making such decisions are not likely to make distinctions.

Further, surely hybrid workers who go into the office to manage or to train people, will also be vulnerable? If there are fewer staff members – WFH or office - to manage, will there not be less need for managers? I suspect that will hit lower management first, rather than those who take such decisions, so I would not cheer just yet.  

However, will even ‘repetitive’ jobs all go AI? People already get frustrated with call centres (many offshore) and will likely be even more so with an automated voice on the other side. However, one must not be naïve, if it's cheaper some companies will go for it whether or not the service is worse – but not all.

Also overlooked is the amount of WFH workers whose work is not ‘repetitive’ (including me!), where human analysis is required for a quality product.

AI aside, there may be another issue - the chances of promotion. The Professor, as reported again by Business Insider, pointed out that hybrid workers (in the US) were more likely to gain promotion than those who fully stay at home. The item refers to a survey by Resume Builder stating that 54% of hybrid workers gained promotion in 2023, as compared to 42% of fully WFH ones (55% for full-time).

What are we to conclude from all this? Whilst I am uncertain that AI will necessarily replace all or even a majority of WFH workers, perhaps we should be a bit cautious and heed the advice of Professor Bloom by popping into the office now and then.

Brian Gallagher is a Media Analyst based in London, England, and is writing for the Apprentice Lens. Here's more about him:
"Brian is a Multiverse Data Literacy alumnus. He is keen to develop his data skills from his apprenticeship and is highly intrigued by Artificial Intelligence."