Accounting for Job Satisfaction

Keeping up with automation is no longer simply the stuff of engineers: Many financial employers are taking note of the shifting environment as well.

If you read about automation as much as I do, then you’re sure to see at least a couple of doom and gloom articles about the robot-controlled future's impact on job availability. However, there's a bright side that often is overlooked: job satisfaction. 

Automation may help bring greater job satisfaction. Consider how new grads are often bored by repetitive tasks in entry-level jobs. When auditing, for example, a new employee may get stuck with the grunt work of comparing clients’ lengthy credits and debits. As such tasks become increasingly automated, however, recent hires will have access to the work that requires more critical thinking. The job itself may become more appealing to potential employees as they recognize they will be able to use their analytical skills to focus on more obscure—and interesting—financial issues.

Of course, accounting curricula will need to shift to accommodate the changes in scope, and employees will have to speed their learning curves if they’re jumping into the deep end right away.