Americans who work alongside robots more likely to suffer negative mental health effects: study

American workers who work alongside robots are more likely to suffer negative mental health effects, despite being less likely to be physically injured. according to a recent study.

For the study, researchers analyzed data on workplace injuries in the US and found that injuries fell by 1.2 cases per 100 workers in regions with a one standard deviation increase in exposure to robots. But in regions where there were significant numbers of people working with robots, there was an increase of 37.8 cases per 100,000 workers in drug- or alcohol-related deaths.

Osea Giuntella, an expert in labor economics and economic demography and an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, said in a press release that while there is evidence of how robots affect employment and workers’ wages, researchers “still know very little about the effects on physical and mental health.”

“On the one hand, robots could perform some of the most strenuous, physically intensive and risky tasks, which reduces risk to workers,” Giuntella said. “On the other hand, competition with robots can increase pressure on workers who may lose their jobs or be forced to retrain. Of course, labor market institutions can play an important role, particularly in a transition phase”.

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The researchers also evaluated data on how automation affected German workers. They found a similar decrease in physical injuries, but found no significant changes in mental health outcomes. The study found that in Germany, the same one standard deviation change in robot exposure led to a 4 percent decrease in physical labor intensity and a 5 percent decrease in disability.

Giuntella said this difference could be due to laws designed to protect Germany’s workforce.

“Exposure to robots did not cause disruptive job losses in Germany; Germany has much stricter employment protection legislation,” Giuntella said.

“Our evidence finds that, in both contexts, robots have a positive impact on workers’ physical health by reducing work-related injuries and disabilities,” Giuntella continued. “However, our findings suggest that, in contexts where workers were less protected, competition with robots was associated with increased mental health problems.”

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Posted June 30, 2022