With rapid advancements in automation technology including arti_cial intelligence
(AI), the question of how technological changes a_ect work has regained attention
in recent decades. Similar to fears in earlier times, policy makers, the public
and scientists alike are concerned about technology-driven job losses. While there
is little evidence suggesting that predictions of disappearing work will materialize
anytime soon, it is also clear that the nature of work is changing rapidly, demanding
high degrees of adaptability of workers. We use administrative, individual-level
panel data for West Germany from 1990 to 2005 to examine how workers have
navigated the labor market in recent decades. To frame our empirical analysis,
we construct a simple model of workers' decisions regarding the tasks they perform
and occupational mobility in the face of changing task content of production.
We _nd that workers alter the tasks they perform at the workplace and also use
occupational mobility to adjust to those changing demands. The results suggest
that `resilient_ workers forgo wage increases but, instead, experience higher future
employment stability.
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