Navigating the Emotional Turmoil: Understanding the Psychological Impact of Robotics-Induced Job Displacement
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61506/Keywords:
Job Displacement, Robotics, Automation, Psychological Impact, Anxiety, Depression, Self-Esteem, Coping Strategies, Emotional Challenges, Mental Health Support, Workforce Adaptation, Identity Crisis, ResilienceAbstract
This study focuses on the psychological effects of job displacement due to robots and automation, presenting some emotional challenges experienced by workers. A mixed-method approach, based on both kinds of analyses-quantitative and qualitative-this research uses a set combination of analyzing anxiety, depression, and self-esteem among affected individuals. The result indicates that the average anxiety score was 65, which far exceeds the normative mean of 50, and the average severity score for depression was 55, indicating significant emotional distress. Additionally, in terms of self-esteem, the average self-esteem score was noted to be 18, and this is less than the mean of 20 in the general population. From the qualitative perspective, some common themes were uncertainty, feelings of being betrayed, and identity crises that heightened turmoil in emotions. Apart from the supportive coping, proactive coping was also observed in this study. About 82% sought social support and 55% pursued further education to cope with job loss. These studies bring out the issue of resilience in coping with job loss. These findings establish a need for well-rounded mental health care systems designed uniquely according to the type of challenge faced by these displaced workers. Working together with and creating an arsenal for policymakers, employers, and mental health professionals can be pivotal in creating strategies that are more comprehensive in their approach regarding emotional and practical proposals regarding unemployment recovery and well-being within this ever-changing job market.
References
Alvesson, M., & Robertson, M. (2016). Money matters: Teflonic identity manoeuvring in the investment banking sector. Organization Studies, 37(1), 7-34.
Arora, R. (2024). Building Workplace Resilience Insights From Employee Engagement and Technological. Embracing Transhumanism and Genomics in Human Resources Management, 327.
Beer, P., & Mulder, R. H. (2020). The effects of technological developments on work and their implications for continuous vocational education and training: A systematic review. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 918.
Berger, T., & Frey, C. B. (2016). Structural transformation in the OECD: Digitalisation, deindustrialisation and the future of work.
Brondino, M., Bazzoli, A., Vander Elst, T., De Witte, H., & Pasini, M. (2020). Validation and measurement invariance of the multidimensional qualitative job insecurity scale. Quality & Quantity, 54(3), 925-942.
Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2014). The second machine age: Work, progress, and prosperity in a time of brilliant technologies. WW Norton & company.
de Bustillo Llorente, R. M. (2021). Digitalization and social dialogue: challenges, opportunities and responses. The New World of Work: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Partners and Labour Institutions, 110.
De Witte, H. (2005). Job insecurity: Review of the international literature on definitions, prevalence, antecedents and consequences. SA journal of Industrial Psychology, 31(4), 1-6.
Elman, C., & Angela, M. (2002). Perceived job insecurity and entry into work-related education and training among adult workers. Social Science Research, 31(1), 49-76.
Greenhalgh, L., & Rosenblatt, Z. (1984). Job insecurity: Toward conceptual clarity. Academy of Management review, 9(3), 438-448.
Huang, G. h., Zhang, Y., Zhang, X., & Long, L. (2021). Job insecurity, commitment and proactivity towards the organization and one's career: Age as a condition. Human Resource Management Journal, 31(2), 532-552.
Huurre, T., Eerola, M., Rahkonen, O., & Aro, H. (2007). Does social support affect the relationship between socioeconomic status and depression? A longitudinal study from adolescence to adulthood. Journal of affective disorders, 100(1-3), 55-64.
Keith, M. G., & Ponce-Pore, I. (2023). Creativity in the gig economy: Opportunities for creativity researchers in the new world of work. In Handbook of Organizational Creativity (pp. 145-160). Elsevier.
Kolade, O., & Owoseni, A. (2022). Employment 5.0: The work of the future and the future of work. Technology in Society, 71, 102086.
Lietuva, V. (2017). Lietuvos Baldu Gamybos Pramone. VšI Versli Lietuva: Vilnius, Lithuania.
McIlroy, T. D., Parker, S. L., & McKimmie, B. M. (2021). The effects of unanswered supervisor support on employees’ well-being, performance, and relational outcomes. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 26(1), 49.
McKee-Ryan, F., Song, Z., Wanberg, C. R., & Kinicki, A. J. (2005). Psychological and physical well-being during unemployment: a meta-analytic study. Journal of applied psychology, 90(1), 53.
Modini, M., Tan, L., Brinchmann, B., Wang, M.-J., Killackey, E., Glozier, N., Mykletun, A., & Harvey, S. B. (2016). Supported employment for people with severe mental illness: systematic review and meta-analysis of the international evidence. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 209(1), 14-22.
Olanrewaju, F. O., Omotoso, F., & Alabi, J. O. (2018). Datasets on the challenges of forced displacement and coping strategies among displaced women in selected Internally Displaced Persons׳(IDPs) camps in Nigeria. Data in brief, 20, 152-158.
Probst, T. M. (2008). Job insecurity. Handbook of organizational behavior, 178-195.
Rosenblatt, Z., & Ruvio, A. (1996). A test of a multidimensional model of job insecurity: The case of Israeli teachers. Journal of organizational behavior, 17(S1), 587-605.
Sharp, M.-L., Solomon, N., Harrison, V., Gribble, R., Cramm, H., Pike, G., & Fear, N. T. (2022). The mental health and wellbeing of spouses, partners and children of emergency responders: A systematic review. PLoS one, 17(6), e0269659.
Song, L., Wang, Y., Li, Z., Yang, Y., & Li, H. (2020). Mental health and work attitudes among people resuming work during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study in China. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(14), 5059.
Stankevičiūtė, Ž., Staniškienė, E., & Ramanauskaitė, J. (2021a). The impact of job insecurity on employee happiness at work: a case of robotised production line operators in furniture industry in Lithuania. Sustainability, 13(3), 1563.
Stankevičiūtė, Ž., Staniškienė, E., & Ramanauskaitė, J. (2021b). The impact of job insecurity on organisational citizenship behaviour and task performance: Evidence from robotised furniture sector companies. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(2), 515.
Thomson, R. M., Kopasker, D., Leyland, A., Pearce, A., & Katikireddi, S. V. (2023). To what extent does income explain the effect of unemployment on mental health? Mediation analysis in the UK Household Longitudinal Study. Psychological medicine, 53(13), 6271-6279.
Trepte, S., Dienlin, T., & Reinecke, L. (2015). Influence of social support received in online and offline contexts on satisfaction with social support and satisfaction with life: A longitudinal study. Media Psychology, 18(1), 74-105.
