For Better or for Worse: The Impact of Workplace Automation on Work Characteristics and Employee Well-Being

Abstract

This article examines the consequences of implementing an automation technology (i.e., Robotic Process Automation; RPA) for work characteristics and employee well-being. Based on the job demands-resources framework we examined to what extent the utilization of RPA was related to job resources (i.e., autonomy and task variety) and a job demand (i.e., information processing), and to what extent these work characteristics were related to work engagement and exhaustion. Data were collected among 420 employees working for a Dutch ministry where RPA was recently introduced. Structural equation modeling revealed that RPA use was negatively related to both autonomy and task variety, which formed a threat to employee work engagement. Contrary to our expectations, RPA use was unrelated to information processing and subsequent exhaustion. These findings put emphasis on the importance of designing new technologies with sufficient job resources to create and maintain a healthy and motivated workforce during and after implementing workplace automation.