Trends in Work Conditions and Associations with Workers’ Health in Recent 15 Years: The Role of Job Automation Probability

Abstract

Job automation and associated psychosocial hazards are emerging workplace challenges. This study examined the trends in work conditions and associations with workers’ health over time in jobs with different automation probabilities. We utilized data from six waves of national questionnaire surveys of randomly selected 95,762 employees between 2001 and 2016. The Job Content Questionnaire, the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, and the Self-Rated Health Scale were applied, and working time was self-reported. Automation probability was derived for 38 occupations and then categorized into three groups. Trends in work conditions and the associations between automation probability, work conditions and health were examined. We observed a 7% decrease in high automation probability jobs, an overall increase in job demands for and prevalence of shift work, and a decrease in job control. Workers with high automation probability jobs had low job demands, low job control and high job insecurity. Low automation probability was associated with burnout in logistic regression models. The odds ratio of job insecurity, long working hours, and shift work relating to health was higher in the later years of the surveys. In conclusion, there has been a decrease in high automation probability jobs. Workers employed in jobs with different levels of automation probability encountered different work condition challenges.

Association between Workers’ Anxiety over Technological Automation and Sleep Disturbance: Results from a Nationally Representative Survey

“…Our study findings are also novel in that it is contrary to previous studies showing that occupations with high automation risk are related to a decrease in burnout and job stress [ 16 , 17 ], which are well-known factors causing sleep disorders [ 33 , 41 ]. As Cheng et al suggested, these previous results may be attributable to the exposure of workers in occupations with high automation risk to lower occupation-related emotional demands.…”

“…A different group of studies has explored various health conditions of workers in occupations with high probabilities of being replaced by automation. Workers in occupations vulnerable to technological replacement are associated with poor overall health [ 16 , 17 ], work-related injury or disease [ 35 ], and increased disability and mortality risk [ 37 ].…”

“…An association between workers’ concern over their jobs being replaced by smart machines and job dissatisfaction has also been established in the literature [ 15 ]. Conversely, the positive health impact of automation has been suggested by previous studies, where workers facing automation risk reported less psychological stress [ 16 ] and burnout [ 17 ]. However, the majority of studies estimated automation risk according to workers’ occupations, and none of the studies have measured individual perceptions of technological automation.…”

“…As multiple meta-analyses and review articles consistently report that insomnia of workers is influenced by psychological factors such as job stress, job satisfaction, and emotional job demands, we regarded them as possible confounders [ 25 , 33 , 34 ]. Moreover, previous studies suggested that emotional job demands such as handling clients could act as a confounder in the relationship between automation risk and mental health [ 17 , 35 ]. Age groups were categorized as ≤35 years (young), 36–55 years (middle-aged), and ≥55 years (old).…”