Automation and Sustainable Working

This chapter examines the complex challenges the increasingly automated workplace poses for workers and organizations. Workers seek stable employment that supports their psychosocial well-being, while organizations strive to optimize operations by integrating new technologies. Aligning these objectives necessitates a thoughtful integration of social and technical systems, including a deep consideration of their long-term implications for workers. The chapter contributes to this integration by highlighting the importance of focusing on decent and meaningful work, which is fundamental to the sustainability of workers’ well-being and the efficiency of organizations in the age of automation. Drawing on extensive literature about the impact of automation, the chapter analyzes how automation can affect the quality of work, highlighting its potential to both hinder and enhance conditions for decent and meaningful work through its influence on opportunities for jobs, wage development, job characteristics, social aspects of work, and work identity. Additionally, it presents principles for integrating automation in work environments that promote sustainable work experiences to support leaders and decision-makers navigating technological advancements.