Replaceable but Employed: Automation and the Meaning of Work
- Home Research Working Papers Replaceable but Employed: Automation… Working Paper 35559 DOI 10.3386/w35559 Issue Date July 2026 Can automation harm workers without replacing them?
- We study jobs in which workers value both producing useful output and knowing that the output depends on their own contribution.
- A credible machine alternative can weaken that second source of meaning even when the firm retains the worker.
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- Home Research Working Papers Replaceable but Employed: Automation… Working Paper 35559 DOI 10.3386/w35559 Issue Date July 2026 Can automation harm workers without replacing them?
- We study jobs in which workers value both producing useful output and knowing that the output depends on their own contribution.
- A credible machine alternative can weaken that second source of meaning even when the firm retains the worker.
Sources: Nber