Transformative Impacts of Automation on the Nature of Work: A Perspective of the Banking Industry in South Africa

The growing adoption of bank automation technologies is bringing about a transformational shift in the global financial sector. The banking industry is seeing significant changes in traditional roles and duties due to the growing integration of modern automation techniques such as robotic assistance, artificial intelligence (AI), and process automation by banking institutions. The rise of new job profiles such as AI data scientists, AI analysts, and robotics process automation specialists shows how the nature of work in the banking industry and the entire financial sector seems to be evolving. The increasing need for technical abilities has led to a greater focus on acquiring and developing a workforce with a distinct combination of technology proficiency and domain understanding. This paper investigated the extent to which the adoption of bank automation is a key determinant of the changing nature of work from a banking industry's perspective. Hence, a hypothetical path was developed to answer the following research question: How is adopting automation changing the nature of work in the banking industry? To answer this question, we considered the five largest banking institutions in South Africa. The findings revealed the paramount transformative changes that occur every time automation technologies are implemented.