IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i16p10051-d888297.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • Seong-Uk Baek

    (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea
    The Institute for Occupational Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 3722, Korea
    Graduate School, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea)

  • Jin-Ha Yoon

    (The Institute for Occupational Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 3722, Korea
    Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea
    Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea)

  • Jong-Uk Won

    (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea
    The Institute for Occupational Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 3722, Korea
    Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea)

Abstract

Despite the positive aspects of recent technological innovations, fears are mounting among workers that machines will inevitably replace most human jobs in the future. This study is the first to explore the association between individual-level automation anxiety and insomnia among workers. We scored the worker’s anxiety over technological automation with five questions. The total sum of scores for participants was categorized in quartiles (Q1–Q4). Logistic regression was employed to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals (CIs). The highest scoring group (Q4) had the highest OR for sleep disturbance (OR [95% CI]:1.40 [1.27–1.55]) compared to the lowest scoring group (Q1). ORs of the highest scoring group (Q4) were strongest for the young (OR [95% CI]:1.96 [1.52–2.53]), followed by the middle-aged (OR [95% CI]:1.40 [1.20–1.64]), and old age groups (OR [95% CI]:1.29 [1.10–1.51]). In addition, a 1-point increase in the automation anxiety score had the strongest association with sleep disturbance in the young (OR [95% CI]:1.07 [1.05–1.10]), followed by the middle-aged (OR [95% CI]:1.03 [1.02–1.04]), and old age groups (OR [95% CI]:1.02 [1.01–1.04]). Our study suggests that policies such as worker retraining are needed to alleviate workers’ undue anxiety.

Suggested Citation

  • Seong-Uk Baek & Jin-Ha Yoon & Jong-Uk Won, 2022. "Association between Workers’ Anxiety over Technological Automation and Sleep Disturbance: Results from a Nationally Representative Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-12, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:16:p:10051-:d:888297
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/10051/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/10051/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wan-Ju Cheng & Li-Chung Pien & Tomohide Kubo & Yawen Cheng, 2020. "Trends in Work Conditions and Associations with Workers’ Health in Recent 15 Years: The Role of Job Automation Probability," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-12, July.
    2. Abeliansky, Ana Lucia & Beulmann, Matthias, 2019. "Are they coming for us? Industrial robots and the mental health of workers," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 379, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    3. Rampersad, Giselle, 2020. "Robot will take your job: Innovation for an era of artificial intelligence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 68-74.
    4. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2020. "Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(6), pages 2188-2244.
    5. Frey, Carl Benedikt & Osborne, Michael A., 2017. "The future of employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 254-280.
    6. Patel, Pankaj C. & Devaraj, Srikant & Hicks, Michael J. & Wornell, Emily J., 2018. "County-level job automation risk and health: Evidence from the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 54-60.
    7. Nakata, Akinori & Haratani, Takashi & Takahashi, Masaya & Kawakami, Norito & Arito, Heihachiro & Kobayashi, Fumio & Araki, Shunichi, 2004. "Job stress, social support, and prevalence of insomnia in a population of Japanese daytime workers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(8), pages 1719-1730, October.
    8. Morgan R. Frank & David Autor & James E. Bessen & Erik Brynjolfsson & Manuel Cebrian & David J. Deming & Maryann Feldman & Matthew Groh & José Lobo & Esteban Moro & Dashun Wang & Hyejin Youn & Iyad Ra, 2019. "Toward understanding the impact of artificial intelligence on labor," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 116(14), pages 6531-6539, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sylvie Blasco, 2022. "Replaced or depressed? The effect of automation risk on workers' mental health," French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2022 09, Stata Users Group.
    2. 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).
    3. Montobbio, Fabio & Staccioli, Jacopo & Virgillito, Maria Enrica & Vivarelli, Marco, 2022. "Robots and the origin of their labour-saving impact," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    4. Wang, Heting & Wang, Huijuan & Guan, Rong, 2024. "Digitalization of industries and labor mobility in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    5. Cebreros Alfonso & Heffner-Rodríguez Aldo & Livas René & Puggioni Daniela, 2020. "Automation Technologies and Employment at Risk: The Case of Mexico," Working Papers 2020-04, Banco de México.
    6. Dosi, G. & Piva, M. & Virgillito, M.E. & Vivarelli, M., 2021. "Embodied and disembodied technological change: The sectoral patterns of job-creation and job-destruction," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(4).
    7. Mutascu, Mihai, 2021. "Artificial intelligence and unemployment: New insights," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 653-667.
    8. 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).
    9. Nikolova, Milena & Cnossen, Femke & Nikolaev, Boris, 2024. "Robots, meaning, and self-determination," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(5).
    10. Nazareno, Luísa & Schiff, Daniel S., 2021. "The impact of automation and artificial intelligence on worker well-being," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    11. Roberto Antonietti & Luca Cattani & Francesca Gambarotto & Giulio Pedrini, 2021. "Education, routine, and complexity-biased Knowledge Enabling Technologies: Evidence from Emilia-Romagna, Italy," Discussion Paper series in Regional Science & Economic Geography 2021-07, Gran Sasso Science Institute, Social Sciences, revised May 2021.
    12. Carbonero, Francesco & Scicchitano, Sergio, 2021. "Labour and technology at the time of Covid-19. Can artificial intelligence mitigate the need for proximity?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 765, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    13. Lyu, Wenjing & Liu, Jin, 2021. "Artificial Intelligence and emerging digital technologies in the energy sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).
    14. Makridis, Christos A. & Han, Joo Hun, 2021. "Future of work and employee empowerment and satisfaction: Evidence from a decade of technological change," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    15. Abeliansky, Ana Lucia & Beulmann, Matthias & Prettner, Klaus, 2024. "Are they coming for us? Industrial robots and the mental health of workers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(3).
    16. Basso, Henrique S. & Jimeno, Juan F., 2021. "From secular stagnation to robocalypse? Implications of demographic and technological changes," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 833-847.
    17. Daniele Angelini, 2023. "Aging Population and Technology Adoption," Working Paper Series of the Department of Economics, University of Konstanz 2023-01, Department of Economics, University of Konstanz.
    18. Liu, Shasha & Wu, Yuhuan & Kong, Gaowen, 2024. "Politics and Robots," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    19. Czarnitzki, Dirk & Fernández, Gastón P. & Rammer, Christian, 2023. "Artificial intelligence and firm-level productivity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 188-205.
    20. Christian Dippel & Robert Gold & Stephan Heblich & Rodrigo Pinto, 2017. "Instrumental Variables and Causal Mechanisms: Unpacking the Effect of Trade on Workers and Voters," CESifo Working Paper Series 6816, CESifo.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:16:p:10051-:d:888297. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.