Robots affect the mental health of workers, a new study says, especially in industrial settings such as warehouses.
The increasing use of robots is negatively impacting the mental health of workers, according to the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU).
Its results suggest that the more automation – in terms of industrial robots in production – in a sector, the worse the mental health of employees.
This effect is primarily driven by worries about job security and a lower sense of achievement on the job.
The past decades have witnessed rapid growth in robot adoption: from 400,000 industrial robots worldwide in 1990 to more than three million in 2020, according to International Federation of Robotics data.
Recent studies find that 9%-12% of occupations are susceptible to automation with some earlier studies even suggesting numbers of up to 47%.
Women and men are affected similarly, as are workers of all educational levels, though those close to the end of their working lives, working in routine jobs or in low-skilled occupations are the most fearful of being replaced by robots.
Poor mental health affects individual productivity and, by implication, economic growth, and can have severe personal and health effects.
Poor mental health has spill over effects on relatives, friends, the healthcare system, firms, and society, the study says.
Researchers add that the side effects of new technologies such as automation on mental health should not be ignored by policymakers.
They say it is important to ensure the functioning of social security systems that protect those who suffer from automation, particularly by providing health insurance and unemployment insurance coverage.
The study was published in the Journal Research Policy.