"A report on occupational health warns that AI adoption may paradoxically increase workplace burdens rather than reduce them. As AI automates routine tasks, workers will shoulder new responsibilities: overseeing AI systems, catching their errors, and managing the resulting complexity - potentially triggering mental health pressures. Researchers from Imperial College London and Microsoft argue the real impact won't be mass job replacement, but a fundamental shift in work demands."
""As AI absorbs routine tasks, human roles may shift toward stewardship, problem-solving, or emotional labor, all with their own psychological demands," said Dr Lara Shemtob, who led the research published in the Society of Occupational Medicine's (SOM) journal Occupational Medicine. This effectively transforms workers into managers of AI systems - a role not everyone is suited for. The report warns AI may "paradoxically increase the knowledge worker's burden of handling complex tasks while simultaneously exerting downward pressure on compensation.""
AI automation of routine tasks shifts frontline work toward supervising and stewarding AI agents, including briefing systems, reviewing outputs, and correcting errors. Workers will take on responsibilities such as overseeing AI systems, detecting hallucinations, and managing increasing workflow complexity. These new duties can produce novel occupational hazards and heightened stress from continuous error checking, problem-solving, and emotional labor. Some workers may lack skills or inclination for stewardship roles while employers may use AI efficiency to push down compensation despite greater responsibility. Evidence exists that AI tools can slow workflows due to time spent verifying outputs. Employers should quantify supervision demands and reflect them in job descriptions.
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