In 2019, a Dutch supermarket introduced a novel concept: reserving some checkout lanes for customers who preferred to chat with the cashier. This initiative aimed to combat widespread loneliness, highlighting the importance of human interaction in an increasingly digital world. A new book by sociologist Allison Pugh, ‘The Last Human Job,’ explores the consequences of neglecting relational aspects of work in the pursuit of efficiency and profit.
The focus on speed, efficiency, and profit has eroded the traditional role of work as a source of everyday, local human-to-human relationships. The supermarket’s approach was a collective response to this trend. Prof Pugh argues that the hollowing out of relational work, or what she terms ‘connective labour,’ needs to be addressed urgently. In her book, she highlights how advanced economies are shifting from ‘thinking economies’ to ‘feeling economies,’ where jobs such as those of therapists, carers, teachers, and consultants increasingly rely on emotional understanding for their success.
Prof Pugh identifies two main threats to connective labour: automation and systematisation. These tendencies have been accelerated by developments in artificial intelligence. She notes that the release of the ChatGPT bot in 2022 exemplifies these risks. Within weeks, a US app utilised the bot to offer mental health support, using AI to craft responses to individuals’ requests for help. As Prof Pugh contends, ‘It’s a fallacy to think these jobs are somehow safe from the data analytics revolution or impervious to what has been called the AI spring.’
To research her book, Prof Pugh immersed herself in the world of ‘professional feelers,’ including therapists, doctors, chaplains, and hairdressers, all of whom have extensive experience in seeing and understanding others. Through in-depth interviews with 100 subjects, she concluded that connective labour’s power lies in its ability to create a sense of belonging and social intimacy.
One striking example of the disconnect between societal needs and commercial objectives is a successful medical centre that extended patient appointments from 15 minutes to two hours, particularly for the 5% of patients who account for 50% of healthcare spending. The rationale was that improving the health of this group required establishing a connection. The results were clear: not only did healthcare outcomes improve, but medical staff experienced no burnout.
Prof Pugh argues that the diminishing of connective labour through scripting, increased job insecurity, and automation needs to be reversed. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of the social contract, momentarily suggesting that radical reforms were necessary to create a more inclusive society. Prof Pugh goes further, advocating for a ‘collective system dedicated to protecting the social well-being of a population.’ She emphasises the need to ‘fight for and enable what we might call our social health.’
In summary, Allison Pugh’s work underscores the critical importance of preserving and enhancing connective labour in our rapidly evolving economies. The relational aspects of jobs are not merely ancillary; they are foundational to the well-being of both workers and society at large. Ignoring this could have detrimental effects, making it imperative to heed her warnings and foster environments where social health is prioritised.