Association between Workers’ Anxiety over Technological Automation and Sleep Disturbance: Results from a Nationally Representative Survey

Abstract

Despite the positive aspects of recent technological innovations, fears are mounting among workers that machines will inevitably replace most human jobs in the future. This study is the first to explore the association between individual-level automation anxiety and insomnia among workers. We scored the worker’s anxiety over technological automation with five questions. The total sum of scores for participants was categorized in quartiles (Q1–Q4). Logistic regression was employed to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals (CIs). The highest scoring group (Q4) had the highest OR for sleep disturbance (OR [95% CI]:1.40 [1.27–1.55]) compared to the lowest scoring group (Q1). ORs of the highest scoring group (Q4) were strongest for the young (OR [95% CI]:1.96 [1.52–2.53]), followed by the middle-aged (OR [95% CI]:1.40 [1.20–1.64]), and old age groups (OR [95% CI]:1.29 [1.10–1.51]). In addition, a 1-point increase in the automation anxiety score had the strongest association with sleep disturbance in the young (OR [95% CI]:1.07 [1.05–1.10]), followed by the middle-aged (OR [95% CI]:1.03 [1.02–1.04]), and old age groups (OR [95% CI]:1.02 [1.01–1.04]). Our study suggests that policies such as worker retraining are needed to alleviate workers’ undue anxiety.