Tasks, IT tools and risks of automation in the world of work in 2022. 13.3% of employed people never use IT tools in the performance of their work.
In 2022, only a minority of employed people never used computers, tablets or smartphones in the work environment. While 13.0 percent of those employed had no intellectual task, 31.4 percent had no manual task in performing their work.
A very small percentage of those employed considered their tasks to be highly repetitive or felt they had little autonomy, both of which pose a risk of automation.
These are some of the findings of the publication on tasks, IT tools and automation risks in the world of work in 2022, published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
Widespread use of computer tools
More than one-third of employed people (35.6 percent) always work with IT tools. Only 13.3 percent never use them in carrying out their professional activities. Younger people use them on average more often than older people.
The 15 to 24 age group is an exception, which can be explained, among other things, by the fact that a portion of it is made up of apprentices, diploma holders in the craft or personal services sector, or people in training in supplementary occupations rather manual than intellectual.
Intellectual tasks and manual tasks: a comparison
While 13.0 percent of the employed population never engage in intellectual tasks such as reading technical documents or relatively complicated calculations, half of employed people (49.8 percent) say they invest at least part of their working hours in them.
It is in the economic section of financial and insurance activities, the information and communication section and the scientific and technical professional activities section that staff spend the most time.
31.4 percent of employed people do not perform manual activities requiring strength or dexterity, 15.4 percent do it all or most of the time, and 11.4 percent do it at least half of the time. Men report spending more time on it than women, and Swiss nationals less than foreign nationals.
Routine and autonomy in carrying out one’s employment
A small percentage of employed people (4.9 percent) believe that their occupation is very repetitive. This share is 5.7 percent for women and 4.2 percent for men. In contrast, the lowest share was found for those with tertiary education (2.3 percent).
Regarding autonomy, 9.2 percent of employed people believe they have little autonomy in carrying out their employment. In this case, the share is 10.2 percent for women and 8.3 percent for men.
This percentage decreases with the level of education: it is 18.1 percent for those without post-compulsory education (secondary level I), 10.4 percent for those with secondary level II education, and 4.9 percent for those with a tertiary level.
Low risk of automation compared to Europe
In Switzerland, the share of people with highly repetitive work and a low level of autonomy, considered as one of the risk factors for automation, is 1.0 percent.
In European comparison, Switzerland and Greece are among the countries with the lowest risk share, surpassed by Luxembourg (0.9 percent) and directly followed by Denmark (1.2 percent), Sweden (1.3 percent) and Italy (1.3 percent). In contrast, the countries with the highest share are Slovakia (11.4 percent), Slovenia (5.6 percent), Ireland, Romania and the Czech Republic (all three at 5.1 percent).
