Upgrade shows us a very different workplace and work environment than we are used to in the modern day. At one point in the movie, we see two members of Eron Keen's company coming to collect Grey. These employees seem to be well trained and are equipped with guns. Upgrade highlights that if companies are able to manufacture powerful technology such as STEM and keep it a secret, they will be incentivized to acquire their own private militia and security force to protect their technology.
Additionally, Upgrade details the impact that technology can have on jobs. In the movie, a substantial amount of technology is shown as supplementary to human employees. For example, the police use drones to assist in the tracking of criminals. However, there is a distinct lack of job loss due to automation present in the film. Especially since approximately 25% of the job market is currently at high risk for being replaced by automation, it casts a shadow of doubt on whether Upgrade properly displayed the economic impacts of said technology [1].
The environment of Eron Keen's company is not shown however. A more accurate portrayal of the workplaces in the movie would be the Police Station. In the police station we see individuals working at desks in a similar office structure to what is currently implemented. Despite the technology being far more advanced than our own nowadays, there is still a visible struggle of the lack of flexibility of the technology. For example, when the police detective tried to add Grey to the suspect list and was blocked by the program. This is very similar to the modern day, where 51% of employees report frustration with technology in their workplaces [2]. Ultimately, Upgrade highlights that even as technology improves, it will always have issues that impede workplace productivity and that workplace culture seems to remain the same despite the new tech.
Annie Nova, John W. Schoen, "Automation threatening 25% of jobs in the US, especially the 'boring and repetitive' ones: Brookings study", (CNBC, Jan 25th, 2019), https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/25/these-workers-face-the-highest-risk-of-losing-their-jobs-to-automation.html (4/30/2020)
Eren Zeyn Eroglu