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Jetha A, Bakhtari H, Rosella LC, Gignac MAM, Biswas A, Shahidi FV, Smith BT, Smith MJ, Mustard C, Khan N, Arrandale VH, Loewen PJ, Zuberi D, Dennerlein JT, Bonaccio S, Wu N, Irvin E, Smith PM. Artificial intelligence and the work-health interface: A research agenda for a technologically transforming world of work. Am J Ind Med 2023; 66:815-830. [PMID: 37525007 DOI: 10.1002/ajim.23517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
The labor market is undergoing a rapid artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. There is currently limited empirical scholarship that focuses on how AI adoption affects employment opportunities and work environments in ways that shape worker health, safety, well-being and equity. In this article, we present an agenda to guide research examining the implications of AI on the intersection between work and health. To build the agenda, a full day meeting was organized and attended by 50 participants including researchers from diverse disciplines and applied stakeholders. Facilitated meeting discussions aimed to set research priorities related to workplace AI applications and its impact on the health of workers, including critical research questions, methodological approaches, data needs, and resource requirements. Discussions also aimed to identify groups of workers and working contexts that may benefit from AI adoption as well as those that may be disadvantaged by AI. Discussions were synthesized into four research agenda areas: (1) examining the impact of stronger AI on human workers; (2) advancing responsible and healthy AI; (3) informing AI policy for worker health, safety, well-being, and equitable employment; and (4) understanding and addressing worker and employer knowledge needs regarding AI applications. The agenda provides a roadmap for researchers to build a critical evidence base on the impact of AI on workers and workplaces, and will ensure that worker health, safety, well-being, and equity are at the forefront of workplace AI system design and adoption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arif Jetha
- Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Hela Bakhtari
- Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Laura C Rosella
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Temerty Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education in Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Vector Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Institute for Better Health, Trillium Health Partners, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
| | - Monique A M Gignac
- Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Aviroop Biswas
- Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Faraz V Shahidi
- Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Brendan T Smith
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Health Promotion, Chronic Disease, and Injury Prevention, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Maxwell J Smith
- School of Health Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Cameron Mustard
- Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Naimul Khan
- Depratment of Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Victoria H Arrandale
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Occupational Cancer Research Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Peter J Loewen
- Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Daniyal Zuberi
- Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jack T Dennerlein
- Department of Physical Therapy, Movement, and Rehabilitation Sciences, Bouve College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Center for Work, Health, and Wellbeing, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Silvia Bonaccio
- Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nicole Wu
- Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Emma Irvin
- Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Peter M Smith
- Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Messing K. A Feminist Intervention That Hurt Women: Biological Differences, Ergonomics, and Occupational Health: Une intervention féministe qui a nui aux femmes: différences biologiques, égalité, ergonomie et santé au travail. New Solut 2017; 27:304-318. [PMID: 28803518 DOI: 10.1177/1048291117724800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
The University of Québec in Montréal has agreements with trade unions providing access to university resources. Researchers involved in this program worked in partnership with union women's and health and safety committees for more than twenty years. Not all studies succeeded in improving women's working conditions. One joint project involved observational studies of tasks done by health-care workers, complemented by interviews and questionnaires. We found that task assignments, movements, postures, and work-related musculoskeletal disorders varied by gender/sex and made recommendations for change. However, issues of pay equity, spending on health care, and contracting-out of "ancillary work" were salient. Researchers learned that in the absence of changes in power relationships in the workplace, women may be disadvantaged by denial as well as by exaggeration of female-male differences. Men may also be at risk when their gender is invisible. We suggest some feminist approaches to workplace solutions and some pathways for research. Résumé L'Université du Québec à Montréal a signé avec des centrales syndicales des ententes leur donnant un accès à des ressources universitaires. Des chercheures ont travaillé en partenariat avec des comités syndicaux de condition des femmes et de santé-sécurité au travail pendant plus de 25 ans, mais ce ne sont pas toutes les études qui ont abouti à des améliorations. Un projet concernait des observations du travail d'employé.e.s du secteur de la santé, dont les tâches, mouvements, et postures variaient selon le genre/sexe. Nous avons recommandé des transformations, mais des enjeux d'équité salariale, de coûts et de sous-traitance y ont fait obstacle. Les chercheures ont appris qu'en l'absence de transformation des rapports de pouvoir au travail, le déni des différences hommes-femmes, autant que leur exagération, peut désavantager les travailleuses (et les travailleurs). Nous suggérons des approches féministes aux solutions pour le milieu de travail, ainsi que des pistes de recherche.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Messing
- 1 14845 Université du Québec à Montréal , Québec, Canada
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Van Niekerk L, Coetzee Z, Engelbrecht M, Hajwani Z, Terreblanche S. Time utilisation trends of supported employment services by persons with mental disability in South Africa. Work 2015; 52:825-33. [PMID: 26409392 DOI: 10.3233/wor-152149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND This paper reports on the second phase of a two-phased study that was undertaken to determine the feasibility of supported employment (SE) as a strategy with which to facilitate the employment of persons with disability in competitive work contexts. The study population comprised people with mental disabilities receiving SE in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. OBJECTIVE To describe the components of SE utilised by persons with mental disability (i.e. psychiatric or intellectual disability) in terms of type and time utilisation patterns over 12 months. METHODS Criterion sampling, a form of purposive sampling, was used to identify 29 study participants - 19 with intellectual disability and 10 with psychiatric disability. Data collection commenced for each participant when a work placement had been identified and preparation for such ensued. Data was collected prospectively for a period of 12 months. SE service components utilised by participants were captured using a data capture sheet that was developed for this purpose. RESULTS Time utilisation indicated a steep downwards trend for both cohorts. The decrease in utilisation of SE service components over a period of one year was more pronounced in the psychiatric disability (PD) cohort, who utilized almost half the total SE services in the first month. CONCLUSIONS SE services can be considered as a viable option for return to work in resource-constrained environments. Providers of SE services will need to modify approaches in order to meet contextual realities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lana Van Niekerk
- Division Occupational Therapy, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa
| | - Zelda Coetzee
- Division Occupational Therapy, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa
| | - Madri Engelbrecht
- Division Occupational Therapy, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa
| | - Zerina Hajwani
- Division of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Santie Terreblanche
- Division Occupational Therapy, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa
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