The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Mental Health of Manufacturing Workers: The Mediating Role of Overtime Work and the Work Environment

Abstract

BackgroundWork-related mental health and psychological injuries are important issues related to people's livelihood and wellbeing. Currently, digitalization and intelligent technology have an extremely large impact on the workforce. China is actively promoting the deep integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and manufacturing, which may have important implications for the mental health of manufacturing workers. However, existing researches have paid little attention to the influence of AI on the mental wellbeing of workers in China. There is a lack of relevant empirical research, and the findings in existing studies are inconsistent.MethodsUsing data from the 2018 China Labor Force Dynamics Survey, this paper studies the impact of AI on the depressive symptoms of manufacturing workers and uses stepwise and bootstrapping methods to test whether overtime work and the work environment exhibit mediating effects. Robustness tests were performed by using alternative measures for the dependent and mediating variables. Finally, the heterogeneity in the impact of AI by skill level and generation was examined.ResultsAI can reduce the psychological depression scores of manufacturing workers by 1.643 points, which indicates that AI promotes workers' mental health. Working overtime is not a mediator between AI and mental health. However, the work environment is a mediator between AI and the mental health of manufacturing workers: it explains 11.509% of workers' mental health. The impact of AI on the mental health of manufacturing workers varies by skill level and generation. AI improves the mental health of low-skilled manufacturing workers by 2.342 points and that of manufacturing workers born before the 1980's by 2.070 points.ConclusionsThe application of AI is conducive to improvements in the mental health of manufacturing workers. Improving the work environment is a powerful way to increase the positive effects of AI on workers' mental health. The impact of AI on the mental health of manufacturing workers varies by skill level and generation. The mental health of low-skilled workers and workers born after 1980 is affected more positively by the adoption of AI.

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Robotics to Improve Mental Health

“…Their research found that AI could reduce psychological depression levels by scores of 1.643 points which shows the technology supports the workers' mental wellbeing (Wei & Li, 2022). This effect would, however, vary by proficiency level and generation.…”

“…Other researchers would explain the effect of integrating AI in the working environment to deal with employees' mental health, specifically from the standpoint of labor-capital relationships. Wei & Li (2022) conducted a survey using statistics from the 2018 China Labor Force Dynamics Survey to assess the effect of AI on the depressing indicators of workers within the manufacturing sector.…”

Artificial intelligence and the work–health interface: A research agenda for a technologically transforming world of work

“…4 These changes have the potential to shape work environments to which workers are exposed and thereby impact worker health outcomes. 28 AI within the workplace can be used to automate physically and psychologically demanding job tasks. 29 However, AI can also contribute to workplace hazards for human workers such as the intensification of work and performance pressures (e.g., increasing pace of work to keep up with productive AI), loss of job autonomy (e.g., AI takes control over the performance of job tasks) and the psychosocial stressors arising from the fear of being made obsolete as AI fully automates a job.…”

“…AI will change the nature of work including the design of workplaces, performance of job tasks, and the demand for workers in certain occupations 4 . These changes have the potential to shape work environments to which workers are exposed and thereby impact worker health outcomes 28 . AI within the workplace can be used to automate physically and psychologically demanding job tasks 29 .…”

Emotions in Mental Healthcare and Psychological Interventions: Towards an Inventive Emotions Recognition Framework Using AI

“…For example, Rathnayaka et al [7] proposed a chatbot with cognitive skills to provide recurrent emotional support, personalised assistance, and remote mental health monitoring. Wei and Li [8] demonstrated that AI can reduce the depression of manufacturing workers in China. Deshpande and Rao [9] also utilize emotion AI to detect depression from Twitter feeds using a natural language processing technique.…”