Lower Risk

Administrative

General Office Clerk

AI is poised to significantly impact general office clerks by automating routine administrative tasks. LLMs can handle correspondence, scheduling, and data entry, while robotic process automation (RPA) can streamline workflows. Computer vision can assist with document processing and verification.

Top risks:

Answer telephones and direct calls40%
Operate office equipment, such as photocopiers, scanners, and fax machines60%
Maintain and update filing, inventory, mailing, and database systems80%

Administrative

Switchboard Operator

AI is poised to significantly impact switchboard operators by automating call routing, information retrieval, and basic customer service interactions. Natural Language Processing (NLP) and automated speech recognition (ASR) systems will handle many routine inquiries, while AI-powered chatbots can manage information dissemination and message taking. This will lead to a reduction in the demand for human switchboard operators, particularly in roles focused on simple call management.

Top risks:

Answer incoming calls and direct them to the appropriate person or department85%
Take and relay messages75%
Provide information to callers70%

Side-by-Side Metrics

Metric	General Office Clerk	Switchboard Operator
Risk Score	72%	81%
Risk Level	Critical Risk	Critical Risk
Timeline	2-5 years	2-5 years
Category	Administrative	Administrative
Tasks at Risk	7 tasks	6 tasks
Skills at Risk	5 skills	5 skills
Safe Skills	4 skills	4 skills

Risk Comparison

General Office Clerk72%

Switchboard Operator81%

General Office Clerk has 9 percentage points lower risk than Switchboard Operator.

Tasks at Risk

General Office Clerk Tasks at Risk

Answer telephones and direct calls40%

5-10 years

Operate office equipment, such as photocopiers, scanners, and fax machines60%

2-5 years

Maintain and update filing, inventory, mailing, and database systems80%

2-5 years

Prepare and modify documents including correspondence, reports, drafts, memos, and emails70%

2-5 years

Schedule and coordinate meetings, appointments, and travel arrangements75%

2-5 years

Switchboard Operator Tasks at Risk

Answer incoming calls and direct them to the appropriate person or department85%

2-5 years

Take and relay messages75%

2-5 years

Provide information to callers70%

2-5 years

Maintain records of calls and messages90%

1-2 years

Operate telephone switchboard to connect, hold, transfer, and disconnect calls95%

1-2 years

Skills Comparison

Shared AI-Resistant Skills(valuable in both careers)

Complex problem-solving

General Office Clerk -- Safe Skills

Complex problem-solvingInterpersonal communicationCritical thinkingAdaptability

General Office Clerk -- Skills at Risk

Data entrySchedulingMail sortingBasic customer serviceDocument preparation

Switchboard Operator -- Safe Skills

Emergency response coordinationComplex problem-solvingEmpathy and emotional intelligenceCrisis management

Switchboard Operator -- Skills at Risk

Call routingMessage takingInformation disseminationSwitchboard operationBasic customer service

Shared Vulnerable Skills(at risk in both careers)

Basic customer service

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