Digitalisation Harms Workers and Leads to Inequality
Research
01.07.2024
ZEW Study on the Impact of Digitalisation on Staff Health
New digital technologies in the workplace have varying effects on the health of individual groups. While those primarily engaged in manual tasks (referred to here as “workers”) experience deteriorating health and increased sick days, those performing knowledge-intensive (office) tasks (referred to here as “employees”) remain unaffected. However, targeted training measures and a supportive corporate culture can mitigate the negative effects. These are the findings of a study conducted by researchers from ZEW Mannheim as well as the universities of Konstanz and Edinburgh, analysing the health effects of digitalisation. The study is based on representative survey and social insurance data from around 3,200 employees from 2011 to 2019, collected by ZEW and other partners.
The use of new digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things/Services, AI, or Big Data, is leading to increased complexity, time pressure, and performance expectations across all occupations. “However, even before the advent of these technologies, workers exhibited poorer health than their office-based counterparts. Digitalisation has only exacerbated these differences,” explains Oliver Schlenker, co-author of the study and researcher at ZEW’s “Labour Markets and Social Insurance” Unit.
He adds: “Our findings confirm an established theory in organisational psychology, suggesting that individuals with limited prior exposure to technological change and increased task complexity experience greater stress. This is especially true for workers in manual occupations.”
Proper training and acclimation to complex tasks are pivotal
By providing targeted support, the stress caused by technology (“technostress”) can be mitigated, as Oliver Schlenker points out: “Preliminary evidence suggests that targeted training initiatives and support from supervisors help lower this ‘technostress’. Hence, managers can wield direct influence in reducing absenteeism and improving the health of their workforce through tailored interventions.”
Digitalisation exacerbates inequalities
In the absence of interventions, however, digitalisation exacerbates existing inequalities. Schlenker’s colleague Professor Melanie Arntz, deputy head of the research unit and co-author, explains: “Workers tend to have lower levels of education and earn less than office employees. Digitalisation further magnifies health disparities. Next-generation AI, such as ChatGPT, is increasingly being used. Therefore, it is crucial that health inequalities between these two groups are not reinforced or entrenched, but rather addressed at an early stage. After all, in the long run, poorer health affects productivity and thus also income.”
About the study
The study examines the relationship between the adoption of new cutting-edge digital technologies and its impact on staff health. To do this, researchers linked representative survey and social insurance data from staff and their establishments from 2011 to 2019. The survey, conducted by ZEW in cooperation with the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BiBB), and the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), provides extensive background information on the surveyed individuals, allowing for the identification of causal effects by comparing statistically similar individuals over time.
