Businesses Are Increasingly Relying on Automation to Compensate for Labor Shortages – Inc.

The robots are taking over--and that's not necessarily abad thing.

Orders of robotic machinery have increase by 37 percent year-over-year, according to the Association for Advancing Automation(A3). The reason: There just aren't enough workers to fill jobs."With labor shortages throughout manufacturing, logistics, and virtually every industry, companies of all sizes are increasingly turning to robotics and automation to stay productive and competitive,"Jeff Burnstein, president of A3, said in a press release. The trade association has seen a particular increase in automation in theautomotive, agricultural, construction, electronics, food processing, and warehousing industries.

Automation can help small-and medium-sized businesses cope with labor shortages, especially when robotics help to streamline otherwise inefficient tasks. Research even showsthat automation can have a positive impact on work environments. The journal Technology and Society found that automation and artificial intelligencecan improve worker productivity and decrease stress, for instance.

However, the negative consequences are something to note. In that same study, which was conducted bygraduate researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University, the authors found that increased automation canreduce worker satisfaction and have a negative impact on worker health. Thenegative impact of automation and A.I.on health and satisfaction may be due to increased surveillance and a reduced sense of meaning at work.

Increased use of automation can help businesses cope with worker shortages, but to prevent them from alienating existing employees, leaders should consider all their pros and cons,the researchers say. When used to complement workload demands (taking on more menial tasksor streamlining more arduous tasks, like hiring), A.I. and robotics can be a solid solution.

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Businesses Are Increasingly Relying on Automation to Compensate for Labor Shortages - Inc.