cepr.org
Artificial intelligence and workers’ wellbeing: Lessons from Germany’s early experience
Artificial intelligence may reduce the need for physically demanding tasks, but it could also erode job satisfaction, intensify cognitive load, and amplify anxiety. This column reports research on survey data from Germany, which finds no evidence that AI exposure has harmed workers’ mental health or subjective wellbeing. But looking at self-reported use of AI tools in the workplace, there are indications of declining life and job satisfaction. This suggests the need to expand current debates beyond AI’s impact on employment, productivity and wages: if it transforms work in ways that affect stress, autonomy, purpose, or health, these dimensions must become central to technology policy and labour regulation.
