[ryandrake]

Not necessarily. As a stereotypical "knowledge worker" my current work activities can be classified very broadly into two buckets: 1. Low-value routine grunt work that I am required to do and 2. High-value non-routine work that is ultimate optional but the more of it I do the better results I get at my job. I try to spend at least 10-20% of my work time figuring out ways to automate more and more of bucket 1 so that I have more and more time to do bucket 2. There's an unending amount of bucket 2 work available for me to do should I have time for it (trust me).

And here's the magical thing! Once all of bucket 1 is automated, a lot of my bucket 2 tasks start becoming routine--patterns emerge and I can imagine ways to even chip away at them with automation, allowing me to do even more high-value work, in theory making me more valuable to my employer.

[paulryanrogers]

My guess is this varies widely depending upon the business. Some are more compatible with automation than others.