The Information Revolution brought about great change in the labor force; creating new jobs as well as modifying how many jobs had once been performed. The advent of the computer began a tremendous surge of technological advancements never before seen on the planet, and nearly every aspect of humanity would be affected. People now did their jobs differently due to the new technology, and new positions of employment were created to take advantage of these technologies. And for the most part, these changes were good; "The Information Revolution brought a shift from older, blue-collar industrial jobs toward newer, white-collar service work." (Macionis, 2010, p.292). .
The majority of professional positions remained intact, and new positions were created for young professionals who were getting their feet wet in the new wave of technology. Even though new jobs were created other jobs were eliminated. "As the economy created new service jobs, it lost old industrial jobs." (Macionis, 2010, p.292). The new form of technology caused some people to gain employment whereas others lost their jobs which forced them to learn new skills for the new positions. This caused what is known as a dual labor market, which has two categories of jobs, primary and secondary. The shift in the labor market and creation and reformation of current jobs caused sociological issues in the workplace. .
These sociological changes are understood by three major theoretical approaches: the structural-functional approach, the symbolic-interaction approach and the social-conflict approach. The structural-functional approach, as described by Macionis has a basic principle, "that the various social institutions are interrelated, so that change in one institution leads to adjustments in all others." (Macionis, 2010, p.307). This is to mean that if there is decline in one industry due to the new technology then another will take its place.
