Shadow work [is] all the unpaid jobs we do on behalf of businesses and organizations: We are pumping our own gas, scanning our own groceries, booking our travel and busing our tables at Starbucks. Shadow work is a new concept, so as yet, no one has compiled economic data on how many jobs we, the consumers, have taken over from (erstwhile) employees. Yet it is surely a force shrinking the job market, and the unemployment it creates is structural. Thanks in part to this new phenomenon, widespread joblessness could become entrenched in the social landscape
Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/05/shadow-work-excerpt-118119.html#ixzz3aiTeRFSm
An interesting article and libraries are not immune as they increasingly move towards self-check, mobile apps and self-serve holds among other technological changes that impact the staffing requirements of the organization.
One one hand – increasing automation feels inevitable and has been ever since the spinning loom was invented in the Industrial Revolution. The question then becomes how does society continue with this new reality? For example, could the increasing calls for a Guaranteed Minimum Income offset the increasing loss of entry-level, service sector and other jobs?