Abstract
Job automation and associated psychosocial hazards are emerging workplace challenges. This study examined the trends in work conditions and associations with workers’ health over time in jobs with different automation probabilities. We utilized data from six waves of national questionnaire surveys of randomly selected 95,762 employees between 2001 and 2016. The Job Content Questionnaire, the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, and the Self-Rated Health Scale were applied, and working time was self-reported. Automation probability was derived for 38 occupations and then categorized into three groups. Trends in work conditions and the associations between automation probability, work conditions and health were examined. We observed a 7% decrease in high automation probability jobs, an overall increase in job demands for and prevalence of shift work, and a decrease in job control. Workers with high automation probability jobs had low job demands, low job control and high job insecurity. Low automation probability was associated with burnout in logistic regression models. The odds ratio of job insecurity, long working hours, and shift work relating to health was higher in the later years of the surveys. In conclusion, there has been a decrease in high automation probability jobs. Workers employed in jobs with different levels of automation probability encountered different work condition challenges.
Highlights
Large scale epidemiological studies have tested models and established associations between adverse psychosocial work conditions and stress-related health [1]
We found significantly decreased total working hours and percentage of job insecurity, poor Self-rated health (SRH) and burnout, but increased percentage of long working hours (>48 per week) and shift work, and decreased job control scores
While the growth of high-skilled jobs was observed in other studies, we did not observe an increase in low automation probability occupations
Summary
Large scale epidemiological studies have tested models and established associations between adverse psychosocial work conditions and stress-related health [1]. Studies from western societies have reported rising precarious employment [2,3], increasing work demands, decreasing job control [4,5,6,7] and increasing prevalence of long working hours and irregular work shift [8]. Cheng and her colleagues have documented deteriorating trends in psychosocial work conditions among general workers in Taiwan during the period from 2001 to 2010, including a rising prevalence of long working hours and shift work and increasing trends in reduced job control levels [9]. A study from Denmark showed improvement in job security, job control and work shift arrangements and decline in low-skilled jobs
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