The Future of Work: Assessing Job Susceptibility for Content Creators

17 pages•Published: June 16, 2024

Naomi Isabirye, Lateef Amusa, Trevor Rammitlwa and Hossana Twinomurinzi

Abstract

Early studies on the influence of technological advancements on job susceptibility suggested that creative jobs were less inclined to technological displacement. However, as technology becomes more intelligent and capable of producing creative works, there is an increased need to reassess the future of creative jobs. Technological advancements in the media industry have led to a highly competitive market, increasingly characterized by a rise in gig work, precarious working conditions and job losses. There has also been a rise in innovations that substitute work (automation and digitization) and innovations that make work more efficient (Artificial Intelligence), raising the threat of technological job displacement for content creators. This study examined the social, political, economic and technological factors that make content creator jobs vulnerable, proposing a conceptual framework for evaluating their job susceptibility. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to demonstrate the proposed framework based on survey data from content creators. The results confirm that job susceptibility among content creators is shaped by social factors (organisational and leaders’ values, job precarity, occupational wellbeing and skills, knowledge, and ability), technological factors (innovative systems that drive efficiency and new technology driven models of business), political factors (a competitive labour market) and economic factors (emerging and declining occupations, job polarization, wage rates and wage equality, conditions of employment and precarious working conditions). The study makes a contribution to the creative sector, particularly in identifying a framework to determine how technological advancements could affect jobs and market dynamics among content creators. The framework can also assist practitioners, policymakers, and organisations in the creative industries in making informed decisions to mitigate job displacement and navigate the complexities of the shifting creative labour market.

Keyphrases: artificial intelligence, automation, broadcasting, content creators, job susceptibility, the future of work

In: Hossana Twinomurinzi, Nkosikhona Theoren Msweli, Sibukele Gumbo, Tendani Mawela, Emmanuel Mtsweni, Peter Mkhize and Ernest Mnkandla (editors). Proceedings of the NEMISA Digital Skills Summit and Colloquium 2024, vol 6, pages 117-133.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/lGQ5
	https://doi.org/10.29007/xmh1

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{NEMISADigitalSkills2024:Future_Work_Assessing_Job,
  author    = {Naomi Isabirye and Lateef Amusa and Trevor Rammitlwa and Hossana Twinomurinzi},
  title     = {The Future of Work: Assessing Job Susceptibility for Content Creators},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the NEMISA Digital Skills Summit and Colloquium 2024},
  editor    = {Hossana Twinomurinzi and Nkosikhona Theoren Msweli and Sibukele Gumbo and Tendani Mawela and Emmanuel Mtsweni and Peter Mkhize and Ernest Mnkandla},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Education Science},
  volume    = {6},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2516-2306},
  url       = {/publications/paper/lGQ5},
  doi       = {10.29007/xmh1},
  pages     = {117-133},
  year      = {2024}}

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