“Technology has made a significant contribution to making people better in Europe and the United States over the past 40 years,” said Eckart Windhagen, McKinsey’s senior partner.

According to Eckart Windhagen, this trend can only be continued “if companies use new technologies correctly”. Using around 600 case studies and technological applications, the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) has identified several areas in which digital innovations have a positive impact on the well-being of individuals and societies.

Technology and work

Modern technologies have the greatest impact on the way we work. On the one hand, intelligent systems are increasingly replacing human labor. MGI estimates that around 75 million people worldwide will have to change jobs by 2030. This is also accompanied by unemployment and the fear of losing a job, both of which have a considerable negative impact on well-being.

At the same time, digitization can ensure that these upheavals are less drastic. Digital job and collaboration platforms provide new opportunities for networking, work, and income generation, which can ultimately also have a positive impact on the material standard of living.

New technologies can also make a difference when it comes to diversity. Different payments with the same qualifications and work can be made more transparent. At the same time, software solutions already ensure that job offers are searched for discriminatory content so that they can be made more attractive to women. So far, women have mostly been paid less than men and selected much less for leading management positions. Research shows that ending this inequality could increase Western Europe’s annual GDP by $ 2.1 trillion by 2025. Technologies such as face or speech recognition also help to better integrate disabled people into a workplace.