On average, a third of women (33%) and over two-fifths (43%) of men said that it was likely or very likely that their current job role could be replaced by technology or machines (such as smart software, automation or robotics) in the future.
To discover more about people’s perceptions of how automation could impact their jobs, Ciphr compared its survey results with a report by the Office for National Statistics on the probability of automation in England. The findings (included below in two interactive charts) show a distinct difference, for almost all occupations included in the study, between what workers think is likely to happen to their current jobs and what ONS researchers predict will happen.
| wdt_ID | Occupation | Likelihood of job becoming automated (according to people working in the role) | Probability of automation (% of jobs at risk from automation, according to ONS report) | Median full-time gross annual salary (GBP) | Number of employees in the UK (Jan-Dec 2021) | % of the workforce that is male | % of the workforce that is female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Financial institution managers and directors (including bank manager and insurance manager) | 100 | 30 | 45,351 | 139,600 | 55 | 45 |
| 2 | Records clerks and assistants (including admissions officer and filing clerk) | 100 | 56 | 23,257 | 132,400 | 33 | 67 |
| 3 | Production managers and directors in manufacturing (including engineering manager, managing director – engineering and operations manager – manufacturing) | 75 | 30 | 43,434 | 237,900 | 85 | 15 |
| 4 | IT specialist managers (including data centre manager, IT support manager and service delivery manager) | 71 | 24 | 47,330 | 265,900 | 75 | 25 |
| 5 | Managers and directors in storage and warehousing (including logistics manager and warehouse manager) | 67 | 35 | 31,025 | 95,500 | 82 | 18 |
| 6 | Food, drink and tobacco process operatives (including Baker – food products manufacturing, factory worker – food products manufacturing, meat processor, process worker – brewery or dairy) | 67 | 65 | 21,234 | 129,200 | 56 | 44 |
| 7 | Chartered and certified accountants | 64 | 26 | 39,837 | 193,900 | 57 | 43 |
| 8 | Financial managers and directors (including investment banker and treasury manager) | 62 | 30 | 58,028 | 278,900 | 55 | 45 |
| 9 | Information technology and telecommunications professionals n.e.c. (including IT consultant, software tester, systems tester and telecommunications planner) | 60 | 28 | 40,000 | 267,100 | 75 | 25 |
| 10 | Security guards and related occupations (including CCTV operator, park keeper and private investigator) | 60 | 57 | 24,814 | 201,500 | 80 | 20 |
| Occupation | Likelihood of job becoming automated (according to people working in the role) | Probability of automation (% of jobs at risk from automation, according to ONS report) | Median full-time gross annual salary (GBP) | Number of employees in the UK (Jan-Dec 2021) | % of the workforce that is male | % of the workforce that is female |
Ciphr polled a representative sample of 1,031 employed British adults. People with related job titles were grouped using the Office for National Statistics’ standard occupational classifications. Due to the survey’s sample size some job titles / industries were underrepresented and therefore too statistically unreliable to include.
All external data sourced from the Office for National Statistics (ONS):