Technological advancement has played a fundamental role in transforming societies and labor relations throughout history. Since the First Industrial Revolution, the incorporation of machinery, equipment, and new production techniques has reshaped production systems, productivity, occupational structures, and the skills required of workers. Against this background, this study analyzes the impacts of technological advancement on workers and work from the First Industrial Revolution to the contemporary era, focusing on changes in production processes, employment, working conditions, and professional skills. The study adopts a qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive approach based on bibliographic and documentary research, with particular emphasis on studies and reports published by the World Economic Forum. The findings indicate that technological development has an ambivalent character: while it generates productivity gains, reduces production costs, and creates new professional opportunities, it also transforms occupations, intensifies work, and increases the demand for new skills and qualifications. In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, driven by the rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation, robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT), these transformations have become increasingly rapid and far-reaching. The study concludes that the effects of technological change are shaped not only by technological factors but also by economic, social, and institutional arrangements. Therefore, addressing these transformations requires coordinated policies aimed at workforce reskilling and upskilling, social protection, and effective regulation.

Keywords: Automation, Mechanization, Technological Evolution, Work. Worker.