Affective Attitudes Toward Robots at Work: A Population-Wide Four-Wave Survey Study

Abstract

Robotization of work is progressing fast globally, and the process has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing integrated threat theory as a theoretical framework, this study investigated affective attitudes toward introducing robots at work using a four timepoint data (n = 830) from a Finnish working population longitudinal study. We used hybrid multilevel linear regression modelling to study within and between participant effects over time. Participants were more positive toward introducing robots at work during the COVID-19 pandemic than before it. Increased cynicism toward individuals’ own work, robot-use self-efficacy, and prior user experiences with robots predicted positivity toward introducing robots at work over time. Workers with higher perceived professional efficacy were less and those with higher perceived technology-use productivity, robot-use self-efficacy, and prior user experiences with robots were more positive toward introducing robots at work. In addition, the affective attitudes of men, introverts, critical personalities, workers in science and technology fields, and high-income earners were more positive. Robotization of work life is influenced by workers’ psychological well-being factors and perceived as a welcomed change in the social distancing reality of the pandemic.