{"title":"Fear of Being Replaced by Robots and Turnover Intention: Evidence from the Chinese Manufacturing Industry","authors":"","doi":"10.1007/s12369-024-01123-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Abstract</h3> <p>As China has become the largest user of industrial robots, the need to understand how workers perceive robot-human substitution and how their perceptions influence their job behaviors is becoming increasingly crucial. This paper examined whether workers’ fear of being replaced by robots (FRR) is correlated with one aspect of job behavior: turnover intention, which refers to the extent to which an individual intends to change their job within a specific time period. Using a dataset covering 1512 manufacturing workers in Guangdong province of China, we found that workers who fear losing their jobs to robots report significantly higher turnover intention. We also found that the positive effect of FRR on turnover intention increased when robots were already utilised in the workplace. This effect was also found to be increase when workers perceived that their wages did not increase with the rise in productivity due to robotisation. Based on these findings, we provide practical recommendations to organizations on effectively addressing the turnover intention arising from the FRR.</p>","PeriodicalId":14361,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Social Robotics","volume":"2016 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Social Robotics","FirstCategoryId":"94","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-024-01123-3","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ROBOTICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
As China has become the largest user of industrial robots, the need to understand how workers perceive robot-human substitution and how their perceptions influence their job behaviors is becoming increasingly crucial. This paper examined whether workers’ fear of being replaced by robots (FRR) is correlated with one aspect of job behavior: turnover intention, which refers to the extent to which an individual intends to change their job within a specific time period. Using a dataset covering 1512 manufacturing workers in Guangdong province of China, we found that workers who fear losing their jobs to robots report significantly higher turnover intention. We also found that the positive effect of FRR on turnover intention increased when robots were already utilised in the workplace. This effect was also found to be increase when workers perceived that their wages did not increase with the rise in productivity due to robotisation. Based on these findings, we provide practical recommendations to organizations on effectively addressing the turnover intention arising from the FRR.
期刊介绍:
Social Robotics is the study of robots that are able to interact and communicate among themselves, with humans, and with the environment, within the social and cultural structure attached to its role. The journal covers a broad spectrum of topics related to the latest technologies, new research results and developments in the area of social robotics on all levels, from developments in core enabling technologies to system integration, aesthetic design, applications and social implications. It provides a platform for like-minded researchers to present their findings and latest developments in social robotics, covering relevant advances in engineering, computing, arts and social sciences.
The journal publishes original, peer reviewed articles and contributions on innovative ideas and concepts, new discoveries and improvements, as well as novel applications, by leading researchers and developers regarding the latest fundamental advances in the core technologies that form the backbone of social robotics, distinguished developmental projects in the area, as well as seminal works in aesthetic design, ethics and philosophy, studies on social impact and influence, pertaining to social robotics.