When factory workers treat industrial robots as co-workers - even attributing certain human qualities to them - productivity and well-being improves, according to new research out of the Alberta School of Business.
"The more the workers found ways to connect to these machines, even emotionally, and figure out their nuances, the better they were able to keep the line running, and the happier they were on the line," says Dr. Trish Reay, who collaborated on the study with researchers in Europe.
It's somewhat like bonding with a new colleague, says Reay, an expert in organizational and institutional change.
(Photo: Supplied)
Entitled "Matilda is Lazy Today: How Mind Perceptions Trigger Relational Job Crafting With Industrial Robots," the study followed workers in European manufacturing settings for four years. Researchers interviewed robot operators and their managers, as well as experts on the introduction of robotics to manufacturing.
The results showed that anthropomorphic perceptions of the robots by workers - including attributions of agency, human-like feelings and experience - helped improve operations on the production line overall.
The increasing integration of industrial robots into workspaces around the world not only leads to significant changes in work design, "but also prompts workers to reframe how they think about their work and adapt to working with technology."
The robots in her study were not driven by artificial intelligence, a feature that would be more likely to elicit attributions of human qualities, she says. Instead, the machines perform specialized tasks such as heavy lifting and materials alignment in a setting such as a furniture factory with no resemblance to humans at all.
"Industrial robots - despite lacking anthropomorphic design features - are treated as more than mere tools: workers ascribe teammate-like qualities to them," write the authors of the study. "This highlights an important and underexplored phenomenon: relationality with technology can emerge even without intentional design."
Productive relationships with robots are built up over time, says Reay. At first, the workers might name the machines "Bobby" or "Matilda" to tell them apart and recognize which ones might require special care.
"In the early days of introducing the robots, a bit more anger directed at the machines came out, but after a time, the anger abated," says Reay.
"People would realize that wasn't the most effective way to get the whole line running. They would counsel each other, saying things like, If the machine isn't listening, maybe it's because you aren't giving it the right instruction.'
Everyone is happier when the machinery is running well and efficiently, because productivity is higher and the workers are getting more money."
An effective manufacturing line needs workers to troubleshoot when things go wrong, sensitive to behavioural nuances in the machines they operate, says Reay. "Saying Matilda is lazy or sick today' gave them a way to diagnose problems. Sometimes it's those early signs they need to watch for so that maintenance is moved up."
One worker said that when working with a robot, "I am simply an operator, and we work together; he is dependent on us, and we are dependent on him."
This sense of bonding with machines is contagious, says Reay, and tends to become the new norm. "People either counsel each other on how to get along with particular robots, or chastise them if they're not encouraging their robot to do the right things."
The phenomenon is one example of what Reay calls "relational job crafting," demonstrating that groups of people will eventually find the best way to work with machines on their own.
Her team found that workers "actively engaged in relational job crafting with the industrial robots as opposed to relying on predefined workflow instructions and characteristics of the technology."
During technological transitions, companies should encourage this kind of behaviour, say the study's authors, "so employees can reframe how they perceive and relate to new technologies helping them manage uncertainty, cope with stress, contribute to their personal well being and meet performance targets."
"People do it in their own way - it's not something they can be told to do. Instead, they need to believe in the agency of the robot."
