Author claims we must prepare for technology making many jobs obsolete

Dr. Linda Sharkey joined “The Morning Blaze with Doc Thompson” to talk about huge workforce shifts that are happening thanks to technology.

Her new book with Morag Barrett, “The Future-Proof Workplace: Six Strategies to Accelerate Talent Development, Reshape Your Culture, and Succeed with Purpose,” is about surviving change when many typical jobs are disappearing.

“It’s mind-blowing how quickly things are happening,” she said, noting that a large number of blue-collar jobs will be gone as consumers buy online instead of in stores. The retail world is shifting dramatically thanks to e-commerce, she claimed.

“Shopping malls are becoming obsolete,” Sharkey listed as one example. The world is changing quickly, but we’re not ready.

“We are not preparing ourselves for what the future looks like, and I don’t think anyone really knows what jobs will be coming down the pike. … There are ways we can re-educate people and re-organize people to keep our workforce the best in the world.”

While people need to be as prepared as possible, we can’t know exactly what the future workplace will look like, Doc Thompson noted. He pointed out that 200 years ago, people had no concept of what our life in 2017 would entail.

“We’re really trying to grasp something of the future when in 20 years, it’s going to look completely different.”

To see more from Doc, visit his channel on TheBlaze and listen live to “The Morning Blaze with Doc Thompson” weekdays 6–9 a.m. ET, only on TheBlaze Radio Network.