Going, going, gone

Back in the day - one of them, anyway - we used to say that "the Internet changes everything." And damned if it didn't turn out that the Internet pretty much did change everything. Fast forward a couple of decades and I'm now hearing that "the

pandemic changes everything." I don't know if this will turn out to be quite as true, and whether the changes will be permanent. But COVID sure has changed plenty, and, when it comes to jobs, some of those changes are likely to be lasting.

A couple of weeks ago, the Boston Globe catalogued seven jobs that will never be the same. Most of the jobs on their list are not that great to begin with: low wages, non-existent benefits, poor working conditions. Seems like the pandemic got a lot of workers thinking about what they wanted out of a job and low wages, non-existent benefits, and poor working conditions weren't it. So now we're dealing with a labor shortage, and many of the jobs where there's a shortage - and you've all seen the "Help Wanted" signs in shops and fast-food outlets - are using the lack of workers to accelerate the move to automate jobs wherever they can. Which, of course, raises the question of what the people who actually needed those jobs are going to do. It's one thing for the poet-barista to decide that poetry doesn't pay and to go find a job doing technical writing. Quite another for someone who cleans hotel rooms to find a lot of great options. 

Anyway, here are the jobs that are either evolving into something else, or are on the endangered species list altogether.

Restaurant workers If you've been in a restaurant lately, you may have noticed that the staffing isn't what it was in the free-wheeling pre-covid days when we actually went out without thinking twice. You're waiting longer for a refill on your coffee. And for your entree. The hours your favorite spot is open may be curtailed. 

No surprise. Lots of people lost their jobs during the pandemic, and lots of them want something better. A recent survey by the National Restaurant Association showed that "nearly 80 percent of restaurants said they are understaffed."

Restaurants are responding in a number of different ways. Some are devoting more space and energy to takeout, which is less labor-intensive than waiting on someone seated at a table. Some restaurants are having you place your own orders on tablets. In a couple of local fast food places, robots are preparing your food. This is mostly happening in places that weren't exactly known for leisurely dining in an elegant booth with a white table cloth. Still, it's happening and nothing's going to stop the automation of eating out, at least not on the lower end of the dining scale. 

(While we're on the subject of restaurants, am I the only one who doesn't want to scan a QR code and look at the menu on my phone? Didn't think so.)

Baristas As office workers drift back into the office, it'll be interesting to see what happens to all the coffee shops that catered to them. Just looking in the windows, I haven't noticed any drop offs in the Starbucks on the corner (admittedly, more for tourists than office workers) or at the Caffe Nero in Downtown Crossing. But I haven't looked around the Financial District to see what's happening to all the coffee places - DD's, Starbucks, etc. - that are there. Or were there. In any case, the Globe foresees that automation will be setting in. I haven't been in there, but a nearby Dunkin's gone digital, with customers ordering via app or touchscreen kiosk. Someone human may still be making your order for you. For now. But the days of the barista who knows not only what name to scrawl on the cup, but how many shots of expresso you want in your venti, may be drawing to a close.

Supermarket/retail cashiers These jobs have been dodo-birding for a long time. My Whole Food has even done away with the express lane section and made it self-service. And when was the last time anyone actually had a human ring them up at CVS? Personally, I prefer the human touch, but stores can't find enough people to work the cash registers. Try finding someone in Macy's so you can pay for a couple of pairs of undies. So stores are automating checkout. (Not Macy's. They just let you wander around until you find a place to pay.) 

To date, my main grocery store, Roche Brothers, has cashiers-only. Which makes me happy. And my local indie hardware and drug stores have real, honest to goodness human beings working there. And, while I've never had a barista know my name, some of these honest to goodness human beings in my indie stores do know mine. But I'm sure that at some point, other than in boutiques and indies, where we'll pay more for the pleasure of human contact, most retail transactions will be automated. (When was the last time you had someone pump your gas for you?)

Truck drivers Adding to supply chain woes, the shortage of truck drivers has been going on for a while. While truck driving can pay pretty well, especially for long haul truckers, it's physically and psychologically demanding, and tough on families. And requires a Commercial Driver License. While it won't be happening tomorrow, or even the day after, I do believe that in my lifetime autonomous vehicles will become a reality. No more "10-4, good buddy." Just an empty semi, eerily crawling up behind you with no one in the position formerly known as the driver' seat. And no one in the position formerly known as your driver's seat, either.

Warehouse and logistics With more and more people ordering more and more stuff online, there's increasing demand for UPS, FedEx and Amazon drivers, and for warehouse workers. And the seasonal demand this year is sky high. The laws and supply and demand seem to be working here. Pay rates are going up, signing bonuses are being paid. Yet there are vast numbers of open positions. I don't know about Amazon, but UPS and FedEx used to pay their driver pretty well. Not sure if that's still the case, but once upon a time, you could make a good living as a UPS delivery person, and retire with a comfy pension. (This can't be true any longer, can it?) 

But we've all heard the horrors of warehouse workers (Amazon edition) being treated terribly, with intense pressure to shelve and pickup items faster, faster, faster. These backbreaking and soul-crushing tasks are being rapidly automated, of course. Because robots don't demand bio breaks. Not to mention that the minute drones are cleared for takeoff and landing, the not so friendly local skies will be full of drones dropping off the pair of socks you ordered on a whim yesterday. And there will go the UPS driver you had for years. 

Uber/Lyft drivers I haven't experienced it yet - not in Boston, nor on my recent excursion to Long Island to visit a friend who hasn't been well - but there's supposed to be a shortage of Uber and Lyft drivers. Supposedly a lot of them have switched to doing food delivery rather than schlepp human cargo around. Not to worry. I know I read somewhere that Uber has a standing order for 500,000 self-driving vehicles, whenever Elon Musk gets around to perfecting them.

Hotel workers These folks were hit really hard by the pandemic. No business travel. No conventions. No events. No tourist travel. A world full of stay-at-home virtual conveners. Yes, the industry is bouncing back. But the bounceback's been slow and not all that bouncy. I did walk by the Marriott Long Wharf the other day and noted that a bunch of limo-ish vans were picking up name-tagged business people there for a meeting/convention to take them on some excursion. Students of ancient history will note that Boston's Marriott Long Wharf was the site of the February 2020 Biogen meeting - back when we were just getting introduced to the pandemic - that became the first great American superspreader event.

It will be interesting to see whether, when hotels are more fully back, they'll return to daily room cleaning and fresh towels. If not...

I don't think that any of these seven jobs are going to become extinct any time soon-soon. But in the long run, a lot of them will sure be going, going, gone.

Covid may not change everything but it will no doubt end up changing a lot.