ERIC Number: EJ1363607
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1366-5626
EISSN: EISSN-1758-7859
The Equity of Opportunities in Emerging Service Work Robotisation
Turja, Tuuli
Journal of Workplace Learning, v35 n9 p38-49 2023
Purpose: In a best-case scenario, both organisations and their employees gain from technological changes by staying up to date on developing digitalisation. However, opportunities to learn and use modern technologies may not be shared equally in the workplace. Employee groups can be divided between those with and without access to new technologies. This study aims to examine the extent to which the position of an employee may be associated with the opportunity to work with robots. Design/methodology/approach: Health-care work was chosen as an exemplary context of emerging robotisation. To gain correlative evidence on how the position and technology orientation of an employee associate with access to care robots, the study used online survey data collected from Finnish care workers (N = 226). Findings: Workplace hierarchies were found to play a significant part in robotisation. Management experience increased the probability for an employee to have access to care robots, but this position did not differentiate between the employees in their aspiration to use care robots. Individual interest in technology was associated with robot use only among care workers with no management experience, whereas managers' access to robots did not depend on their personal interests. Originality/value: This study brings new information about the equity of robot-use opportunities in workplaces. Distinctive to care robots was the significant number of motivated non-users. Thus, adding to the categories of "have-bots", "have-nots" and "want-nots", this study introduces an important group of "want-bots".
Descriptors: Robotics, Computer Attitudes, Work Environment, Health Personnel, Foreign Countries, Access to Computers, Influence of Technology, Equal Opportunities (Jobs), Informal Education, Employee Attitudes, Health Services, Administrators
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Finland
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A