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Abeliansky, Ana Lucia, Matthias Beulmann & Klaus Prettner (2024): Are they coming for us? Industrial robots and the mental health of workers. In: Research Policy, Jg. 53, H. 3. DOI:10.1016/j.respol.2024.104956

Abstract

"How does the increasing use of robots affect the mental health of workers? To investigate this question, we combine individual mental health data from the German Socioeconomic Panel with data on the stock of robots in 14 manufacturing sectors provided by the International Federation of Robotics for the period 2002–2018. Using mediation analysis andan instrumental variable approach, we find that higher robot intensity is associated with deteriorating mental health, an effect that is mainly driven by worries about job security and a lower sense of achievement on the job. A heterogeneity analysis reveals that higher robot intensity has particularly severe negative effects on the mental health of workers close to retirement, in low-skilled occupations and performing routine jobs. Women and men are affected similarly, as are workers of all educational levels. Our results indicate the presence of hidden (health) costs of automation that policymakers need to address." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 Elsevier) ((en))

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Abendroth, Anja-Kristin & Mareike Reimann (2024): Organisational inhibition and promotion of flexible working in digitalised work environments. In: New Technology, Work and Employment, Jg. 39, H. 1, S. 39-62. DOI:10.1111/ntwe.12275

Abstract

"Work-related use of digital information and communication technology (ICT) is not restricted to specific working sites and times. For employees, this can involve opportunities for flexible working, that is, having control over when and where to work. Applying an organisational comparative perspective, we examined whether adherence to the ideal worker norm inhibits and adherence to family-friendliness promotes flexible working as a consequence of ICT use. Linked employer–employee survey data from large German work organisations revealed that employees worked more flexibly in time and place due to work-related ICT use when supervisory work-life support was common. Mixed evidence is provided for the prevalence of ideal worker norm expectations. We conclude that work-life support in the organisation is a required complementary practice of flexible working for employees, promoting its dissemination." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Alacovska, Ana, Eliane Bucher & Christian Fieseler (2024): A Relational Work Perspective on the Gig Economy: Doing Creative Work on Digital Labour Platforms. In: Work, Employment and Society, Jg. 38, H. 1, S. 161-179. DOI:10.1177/09500170221103146

Abstract

"Based on interviews with 49 visual artists, graphic designers and illustrators working on two leading global digital labour platforms, this article examines how creative workers perform relational work as a means of attenuating labour commodification, precarity, and algorithmic normativity. The article argues that creative work on online labour platforms, rather than being entirely controlled by depersonalised, anonymised and algorithm-driven labour market forces, is also infused in relational infrastructures whose upkeep, solidity and durability depends on the emotional efforts undertaken by workers to match economic transactions and their media of exchange to meaningful client relations. By applying a relational work perspective from economic sociology to the study of platform-mediated gig work, the article elucidates the micro-foundations of creative work in the digital gig economy, including how labour inequalities are produced and reproduced within and around micro-level interpersonal interactions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Albinowski, Maciej & Piotr Lewandowski (2024): The impact of ICT and robots on labour market outcomes of demographic groups in Europe. In: Labour Economics, Jg. 87. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2023.102481

Abstract

"We study the age- and gender-specific labour market effects of two key modern technologies, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and robots. Our sample includes 14 European countries between 2010 and 2018. We use the variation in technology adoption between industries and apply the instrumental variables strategy proposed by Acemoglu and Restrepo (2020) to identify the causal effects of technology adoption. We find that exposure to ICT and robots increased the shares of young and prime-aged women in employment and in the wage bills of particular sectors. However, it reduced the shares of older women and prime-aged men. We do not detect significant effects of technology adoption on the relative wages of most demographic groups. Between 2010 and 2018, the growth in ICT capital played a larger role than robot adoption in the changes in the withinsector labor market outcomes of demographic groups." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, ©2024 Elsevier) ((en))

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(2024): Die Zukunft der Arbeit. (Stellungnahme / Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina Januar 2024), Halle, Saale ; Mainz, 124 S.

Abstract

"Unsere Arbeitswelt verändert sich stark. Digitalisierung und Automatisierung erlauben oft ortsungebundene Arbeit, die Abkehr von fossilen Brennstoffen zwingt uns zum Wirtschaften mit ökologisch nachhaltigen Energien und Technologien, demografischer Wandel und Einwanderung verändern unsere Gesellschaft grundlegend. Aus diesen Entwicklungen erwachsen Chancen und Risiken. Eine interdisziplinäre und interakademische Arbeitsgruppe widmet sich diesen in der Stellungnahme „Die Zukunft der Arbeit“. Die Arbeitsgruppe unter der Leitung von Frau Prof. Dr. h. c. Jutta Allmendinger, Ph.D. (Präsidentin des Wissenschaftszentrums Berlin für Sozialforschung, Mitglied der Leopoldina und der Berlin-Brandenburgischen Akademie der Wissenschaften) schlägt vor, Erwerbsarbeit in ihrem Wechselspiel mit anderen Formen des Tätigseins zu betrachten, den Begriff der Arbeit weit zu fassen und unterschiedlichste Formen menschlicher Tätigkeit und deren Zusammenspiel in den Blick zu nehmen. Gesellschaftlicher Wohlstand, individuelles Wohlergehen und sozialer Zusammenhalt beruhen wesentlich auf Erwerbsarbeit. Gleichzeitig bedarf es zahlreicher anderer Tätigkeitsformen, um menschliche Bedürfnisse zu befriedigen, Fähigkeiten zu entwickeln und gesellschaftliche Arbeit zu leisten. Diese erweiterte Sicht auf Arbeit rückt menschliche Potenziale und ein neu auszubalancierendes Verhältnis zwischen sozialen, wirtschaftlichen und ökologischen Erfordernissen in den Mittelpunkt. Mit dem Begriff der „Tätigkeitsgesellschaft“ wird eine Perspektiverweiterung auf das Verständnis von Arbeit vorgeschlagen, bei der neben klassischer Erwerbstätigkeit auch all jene Beschäftigungen berücksichtigt werden, die einen konkreten gesellschaftlichen Nutzen erbringen, wie beispielsweise Sorgearbeit oder auch ehrenamtliche Arbeit. Diese ganz unterschiedlichen Formen von Arbeit sind eng miteinander verbunden und bedingen einander." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Arntz, Melanie, Sabrina Genz, Terry Gregory, Florian Lehmer & Ulrich Zierahn-Weilage (2024): De-Routinization in the Fourth Industrial Revolution - Firm-Level Evidence. (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 16740), Bonn, 65 S.

Abstract

"This paper examines the extent to which aggregate-level de-routinization can be attributed to firm-level technology adoption during the most recent technological expansion. We use administrative data and a novel firm survey to distinguish frontier technologies from older technologies. We find that adopters of frontier technologies contribute substantially to deroutinization. However, this is driven only by a subset of these firms: large adopters replace routine jobs and less routine-intensive adopters experience faster growth. These scale and composition effects reflect firms' readiness to adopt and implement frontier technologies. Our results suggest that an acceleration of technology adoption would be associated with faster de-routinization and an increase in between-firm heterogeneity." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Barišić, Antea, Mahdi Ghodsi & Robert Stehrer (2024): Which Migrant Jobs are Linked with the Adoption of Novel Technologies, Robotization, and Digitalization? (WIIW working paper 241), Wien, 66 S.

Abstract

"In recent decades, the development of novel technologies has intenzified due to globalization, prompting countries to enhance competitiveness through innovation. These technologies have significantly improved global welfare, particularly in sectors like healthcare, where they have facilitated tasks and boosted productivity, for example playing a crucial role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. However, certain technologies, such as robots, can negatively impact employment by replacing workers and tasks. Additionally, the emergence of artificial intelligence as digital assets not only replaces specific tasks but also introduces complexities that may displace employees who are unable to adapt. While the existing literature extensively explores the heterogeneous effects of these technologies on labor markets, studies of their impact on migrant workers remain scarce. This paper presents pioneering evidence on the effects of various novel technologies on migrant employment in the European Union. The analysis covers 18 EU member states from 2005 to 2019 focusing on the impact of novel innovations, robot adoption, three types of digital assets, and total factor productivity, on migrant employment. The key findings reveal that innovations measured by the number of granted patents increase both the number and proportion of migrant workers relative to the overall workforce. While robots do replace jobs, their impact on native workers surpasses that of migrant workers, resulting in a higher share of migrant workers following robot adoption. Total factor productivity positively influences migrant workers, while the effects of digital assets are heterogeneous. Moreover, the impacts of these technologies on migrant workers vary significantly across different occupation types and educational levels." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Blasco, Sylvie, Julie Rochut & Benedicte Rouland (2024): Displaced or depressed? Working in automatable jobs and mental health. In: Industrial Relations online erschienen am 04.01.2024. DOI:10.1111/irel.12356

Abstract

"Automation may destroy jobs and change the labor demand structure, thereby potentially impacting workers' mental health. Implementing propensity score matching on French individual survey data, we find that working in an automatable job is associated with a 3 pp increase in the probability of suffering from mental disorders. Fear of automation through fear of job loss, expectation of a required change in skills, and fear of unwanted job mobility seem to be relevant channels to explain the findings." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Carstensen, Tanja & Kathrin Ganz (2024): Künstliche Intelligenz und Gender - eine Frage diskursiver (Gegen-)Macht? In: WSI-Mitteilungen, Jg. 77, H. 1, S. 26-33. DOI:10.5771/0342-300X-2024-1-26

Abstract

"Mit der Digitalisierung von Arbeit ist häufig die Frage verbunden, ob sich Geschlechterungleichheiten verändern. Aktuell wird dies vor allem mit Blick auf Künstliche Intelligenz (KI ) kontrovers diskutiert. Im betrieblichen Alltag gewinnt KI zunehmend an Relevanz ; in politischen, medialen und wissenschaftlichen Diskursen wird bereits seit einigen Jahren thematisiert, inwiefern KI aus Geschlechterperspektiven relevant ist. Dieser Beitrag untersucht diese Diskurse und widmet sich der Frage, inwiefern sich durch die Anwendung von KI -Technologien geschlechtliche Machtungleichheiten in der Arbeitswelt verändern und ob sich mit KI Ansatzpunkte für die Entwicklung von Gegenmacht erkennen lassen." (Textauszug, IAB-Doku)

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Chen, Xi, Xiang Wen Cai, Xu Ding, Le Song & Cheng Chen (2024): Intellectualization and substitution elasticity of capital on the labour force in logistics enterprises: evidence from China and the United States. In: Applied Economics Letters, Jg. 31, H. 5, S. 395-400. DOI:10.1080/13504851.2022.2136615

Abstract

"This paper addresses the substitution elasticity of capital on the labor force in the context of the development of intellectualization. Given the substitution of capital for labor, China's benchmark listed logistics companies are compared with an American company to discuss the evolution of capital - labor substitution. A large-scale intellectualization process began in 2017, and based on a variable elasticity of substitution, this paper creates an econometric model of substitution elasticity between capital and labor and its evolution between 2017 and 2021. The American logistics company UPS maintains a relatively high level of substitution elasticity, and Chinese logistics companies are quickly catching up. The substitution elasticity of capital on labor in Chinese enterprises trends upward year after year. In 2021, the capital - labor substitution elasticity of logistics enterprises in both countries showed considerable growth. The calculation model of substitution elasticity presented in this paper can be extended to different regions and industries to measure intelligent development levels and the relationship between capital and the labor force." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Drazic, Ivana & Carsten C. Schermuly (2024): Too old for modern work? An explicit and implicit measure of the modern-work-is-young stereotype. In: German Journal of Human Resource Management, Jg. 38, H. 1, S. 59-89. DOI:10.1177/23970022231195061

Abstract

"With organizational practices such as working from home, agile project management, and shared leadership, the world of work is becoming increasingly dynamic and flexible. Simultaneously, the workforce in most industrialized nations is getting older. We hypothesized that both an explicit and implicit stereotype exists that associates modern work practices (MWP) more strongly with younger workers than with older workers (i.e. modern-work-is-young stereotype). With a focus on other-stereotyping, we surveyed participants who identified as younger or middle-aged workers (N = 186). Based on the contact hypothesis, we assumed that contact to older coworkers and contact with MWP are negatively related to both explicit and implicit endorsement of the modern-work-is-young stereotype. Furthermore, we examined differences in résumé evaluations for a job involving MWP, presenting an older and a younger hypothetical applicant. The results indicate the existence of a moderate explicit as well as implicit modern-work-is-young stereotype. The proposed contact hypothesis held true for the explicit but not for the implicit modern-work-is-young stereotype. Lastly, the younger applicant received significantly more positive evaluations than the older applicant, and only the explicit modern-work-is-young stereotype predicted the extent of age discrimination. The results suggest that the explicit modern-work-is-young stereotype can harm older employees and hamper intergenerational collaboration. These findings are especially important in times of demographic change, when workforces are becoming increasingly age-heterogeneous and retaining older workers seems more important than ever." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Friedrich, Martin, Ines Helm, Ramona Jost, Julia Lang & Christoph Müller (2024): Gig-Work bei Lieferdiensten in Deutschland: Beschäftigung hat in den letzten Jahren stark zugenommen. In: IAB-Forum H. 03.04.2024, 2024-03-28. DOI:10.48720/IAB.FOO.20240403.01

Abstract

"Die Fahrer*innen von App-basierten Lieferdiensten sind auch in Deutschland aus dem Stadtbild nicht mehr wegzudenken. Gleichzeitig wird in der Öffentlichkeit kontrovers über die Arbeitsbedingungen in der sogenannten Plattform-Ökonomie diskutiert. Das IAB untersucht nun erstmals das Wachstum und die Struktur dieser Beschäftigungsform sowie die individuellen Merkmale der abhängig Beschäftigten bei zehn großen App-basierten Lieferdiensten in Deutschland. Fast die Hälfte dieser Menschen ist geringfügig beschäftigt und ihr Einkommen ist geringer als in vergleichbaren Helferberufen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Gerlmaier, Anja & Alexander Bendel (2024): Wie kollegial ist Künstliche Intelligenz? Risikowahrnehmungen und Gestaltungsanforderungen aus Sicht von Beschäftigten. (IAQ-Report 2024-01), Duisburg ; Essen, 15 S. DOI:10.17185/duepublico/81427

Abstract

Zukünftig werden immer mehr Beschäftigte nicht nur in ihrem privaten Umfeld, sondern auch am Arbeitsplatz mit Systemen zusammenarbeiten, die auf Künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) basieren. Das IAQ untersuchte im Rahmen des "HUMAINE"-Projektes, wie Beschäftigte die Kooperation mit solchen KI-Systemen bewerten und welche Gestaltungsanforderungen sie an diese neue Form der hybriden Mensch-KI-Zusammenarbeit haben. Es zeigte sich, dass KI-Systeme je nach Interaktionsform unterschiedliche Potenziale und Risiken aufweisen. Um die KI-basierten Risiken zu verringern, sollten Nutzer*innen frühzeitig an der Konzeption und Implementierung beteiligt und dabei arbeitswissenschaftliche Gestaltungskriterien berücksichtigt werden. (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku)

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Grienberger, Katharina, Britta Matthes & Wiebke Paulus (2024): Folgen des technologischen Wandels für den Arbeitsmarkt: Vor allem Hochqualifizierte bekommen die Digitalisierung verstärkt zu spüren. (IAB-Kurzbericht 05/2024), Nürnberg, 8 S. DOI:10.48720/IAB.KB.2405

Abstract

"Die Potenziale, dass berufliche Tätigkeiten durch Computer oder computergesteuerte Maschinen vollautomatisch erledigt werden könnten, ändern sich, wenn neue Technologien auf dem Markt verfügbar werden. Bei der Neuberechnung solcher Substituierbarkeitspotenziale wird neben dieser Entwicklung auch berücksichtigt, dass sich die Tätigkeitsprofile in den Berufen verändern, neue Berufe und Tätigkeiten entstehen und Beschäftigte ihren Beruf wechseln. Die Autorinnen zeigen für die technologischen Möglichkeiten im Jahr 2022, wie hoch das Substituierbarkeitspotenzial derzeit ist und wie es sich seit 2013 verändert hat." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Grienberger, Katharina, Britta Matthes & Wiebke Paulus (2024): Anteil der beruflichen Tätigkeiten, die automatisiert werden könnten, variiert regional erheblich. In: IAB-Forum – Grafik aktuell H. 12.03.2024.

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Guarascio, Dario, Alessandro Piccirillo & Jelena Reljic (2024): Will robot replace workers? Assessing the impact of robots on employment and wages with meta-analysis. (GLO discussion paper / Global Labor Organization 1395), Essen, 31 S.

Abstract

"This study conducts a meta-analysis to assess the effects of robotization on employment and wages, compiling data from 33 studies with 644 estimates on employment and a subset of 19 studies with 195 estimates on wages. We identify a publication bias towards negative outcomes, especially concerning wages. After correcting for this bias, the actual impact appears minimal. Thus, concerns about the disruptive effects of robots on employment and the risk of widespread technological unemployment may be exaggerated or not yet empirically supported. While this does not preclude that robots will be capable of gaining greater disruptive potential in the future or that they are not already disruptive in specific contexts, the evidence to date suggests their aggregate effect is negligible." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Keppeler, Florian (2024): No Thanks, Dear AI! Understanding the Effects of Disclosure and Deployment of Artificial Intelligence in Public Sector Recruitment. In: Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Jg. 34, H. 1, S. 39-52. DOI:10.1093/jopart/muad009

Abstract

"Applications based on artificial intelligence (AI) play an increasing role in the public sector and invoke political discussions. Research gaps exist regarding the disclosure effects—reactions to disclosure of the use of AI applications—and the deploymenteffect—efficiency gains in data savvy tasks. This study analyzes disclosure effects and explores the deployment of an AI application in a preregistered field experiment (n = 2,000) co-designed with a public organization in the context of employer-driven recruitment. The linear regression results show that disclosing the use of the AI application leads to significantly less interest in an offer among job candidates. The explorative analysis of the deployment of the AI application indicates that the person–job fit determined by the leaders can be predicted by the AIapplication. Based on the literature on algorithm aversion and digital discretion, this study provides a theoretical and empirical disentanglement of the disclosure effect and the deployment effect to inform future evaluations of AI applications in the public sector. It contributes to the understanding of how AI applications can shape public policy and management decisions, and discusses the potential benefits and downsides of disclosing and deploying AI applications in the public sector and in employer-driven recruitment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Kiener, Fabienne, Christian Eggenberger & Uschi Backes-Gellner (2024): The role of occupational skill sets in the digital transformation: how IT progress shapes returns to specialization and social skills. In: Journal of business economics, Jg. 94, H. 1, S. 75-111. DOI:10.1007/s11573-023-01153-9

Abstract

"Workers’ occupational skill sets play a crucial role in successfully handling digital transformation. We investigate whether and how different types of occupational skill sets benefit from digital transformation. We theoretically and empirically analyze wage returns of workers in occupations with more or less specialized skill sets and with more or less social skills when IT increases in their industry. Applying natural language processing methods to the texts of occupational training curricula, we develop measures for occupational specialization and social skills. We use vocational education and training curricula from Switzerland because they cover approx. two-thirds of the working population. Using curricula, industry-level IT data and individual-level administrative wage data, our individual fixed-effects analyses show that IT progress leads to higher wage returns for workers in highly specialized occupations but not for workers in more general occupations. In addition, we find that high levels of social skills cannot make up for this difference when IT advances. However, our results indicate that for workers with high specialization, a combination with high social skills generates additional benefits when IT advances. Overall, our results suggest that, contrary to typical assumptions in educational policy debates, workers with specialized occupational skill sets—possibly in combination with high social skills—appear to be the ones who are particularly well prepared to cope with digital transformation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Kristal, Tali, Efrat Herzberg-Druker & Adena White (2024): Is the wage premium on using computers at work gender-specific? In: Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Jg. 89. DOI:10.1016/j.rssm.2024.100890

Abstract

"Past research on the relationship between computers and wages has revealed two stylized facts. First, workers who use a computer at work earn higher wages than similar workers who do not (termed as ‘the computer wage premium’). Second, women are more likely to use a computer at work than are men. Given the recognized computer wage premium and women’s advantage in computer use at work, we ask: Is the wage premium on using computers at work gender- or non-gender-specific? Given gendered processes operating at both the occupational and within-occupation levels, we expect that returns to computer usage are gender-bias. This contrasts the skill-biased technological change (SBTC) theory assumption that the theorized pathways through which computers boost earnings are non-gender-specific productivity-enhancing mechanisms. Analyzing occupational data on computer use at work from O*NET attached to the 1979–2016 Current Population Surveys (CPS) and individual-level data from the 2012 Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), we find that the computer wage premium is biased in favor of men at the occupation level. We conclude by suggesting that computer-based technologies relate to reproducing old forms of gender pay inequality due to gendered processes that operate mainly at the structural level (i.e., occupations) rather than at the individual level." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 Elsevier) ((en))

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Livanos, Ilias & Panagiotis Ravanos (2024): Job loss and Covid-19: an analysis on the impacts of remote work and automation. In: Applied Economics Letters, Jg. 31, H. 8, S. 712-723. DOI:10.1080/13504851.2022.2146641

Abstract

"Using a unique dataset from a dedicated Cedefop Skills Forecast scenario on the impacts of COVID-19, this paper explores two possible determinants of expected job loss in the European Union (EU) due to the pandemic, namely the potential of work from home and the impacts of automation. Our findings suggest that less remote work and more automation are both related to future job losses across countries and occupations. These links are stronger in 2020–2021 at the country level, while becoming significant at the occupation level after 2022 when several protective measures taken by EU governments are expected to have been lifted." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))