New research reveals that American workers worry about their jobs, stress when they have to work alongside robots.
Employees still experienced higher levels of distress, and even turned to substance abuse, scientists report, even though many robots have taken on the most dangerous aspects of a job.
“Robotic systems are effective for physical health, as they generally take on physically strenuous jobs where a person could even get injured. However, in the US, there is a notion that robots could steal employment, due to because there’s a less protective labor market,” explained study author Osea Giuntella, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Pittsburgh.
The research team examined data from US workplaces that focused on workplace injuries. The researchers found that introducing robots into a company’s workforce decreases the number of work-related injuries per year by up to 1.2 cases per 100 full-time workers. However, areas that had a higher integration of robots and humans reported an increase in drug or alcohol-related deaths, up to 37.8 cases per 100,000 people. Communities that joined the automated and human workforces also saw a slight increase in mental health problems, and even suicide rates, among employees.
Similar data from Germany were examined, and they found that these workers did not experience any adverse effects from the introduction of robotic colleagues in the workplace, despite it being more common in that country.
What causes this difference?
Giuntella noted that “German workers are better protected from German robots at work.” “In Germany, the introduction of robots was not related to job loss. Rather, new and young workers were taken to other sectors of the industry, while the job security of current workers was not affected.”
U.S. companies woefully offer less of the same job protections, which experts say fuels job insecurity. The new findings, published recently in the journal Labor Economics, suggest that American workers fear that a new robot by their side could mean their jobs are in jeopardy.
What generated the anguish was the perception of job loss. It doesn’t seem to matter whether or not the presence of the robots signals a possible job loss.
It is intended to emphasize that technology is not predetermined, but how people react to it determines how technology is adopted in the workplace, and whether or not it is successful.
The findings raised important questions about the differences in the introduction of these new technologies, depending on the country. When workers are first introduced to their robotic coworkers, it’s important that people understand their changing roles in the workplace, and how to make the most of the addition of these new workers.
Companies, managers, technology developers, government, for this reason, everyone must pay attention to a variety of outcomes, including health, safety, well-being, profits, when it comes to these technologies. .
Technology may be the future, but it will have a much stronger and more positive impact if it is developed jointly by workers and technology developments, and everyone’s interests and concerns are reflected. Published by WildWestDominio, a news and information agency.