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People versus machines: The impact of being in an automatable job on Australian worker’s mental health and life satisfaction

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  • Lordan, Grace
  • Stringer, Eliza-Jane

Abstract

This study explores the effect on mental health and life satisfaction of working in an automatable job. We utilise an Australian panel dataset (HILDA), and take a fixed effects linear regression approach, to relate a person being in automatable work to proxies of their wellbeing. Overall, we find evidence that automatable work has a small, detrimental impact on the mental health and life satisfaction of workers within some industries, particularly those with higher levels of job automation risk, such as manufacturing. Furthermore, we find no strong trends to suggest that any particular demographic group is disproportionately impacted across industries. These findings are robust to a variety of specifications. We also find evidence of adaptation to these effects after one-year tenure on the job, indicating a limited role for firm policy.

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  • Lordan, Grace & Stringer, Eliza-Jane, 2022. "People versus machines: The impact of being in an automatable job on Australian worker’s mental health and life satisfaction," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:46:y:2022:i:c:s1570677x22000405
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2022.101144
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    Cited by:

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    4. Bertoni, Marco & Brunello, Giorgio & Da Re, Filippo, 2023. "Pension reforms, longer working horizons and depression. Does the risk of automation matter?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    5. Blasco, Sylvie & Rochut, Julie & Rouland, Benedicte, 2022. "Displaced or Depressed? The Effect of Working in Automatable Jobs on Mental Health," IZA Discussion Papers 15434, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Automation; Life satisfaction; Mental health; Job security;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General

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