The real effects of artificial intelligence on employment are still difficult to assess, but that doesn’t stop some parties from speculating about the benefits that workers and managers will derive from this new technology.

According to a recent study, however, this progress may come at the expense of wellbeing at work.

This research was carried out by the Institute for the Future of Work, a UK think-tank, among 5,000 employees. Most of those surveyed regularly use information and communication technologies (ICT) at work, such as computers, smartphones, connected devices, and AI software.

While such technology can make work easier, it can also intensify it. Managers and employees who use them intensively can be exposed to psychological risks linked to stress, hyperconnectivity, and excessive mental load, the researchers found.

In fact, the authors reveal that some ICTs contribute more to wellbeing erosion than others. While “older” tech such as computers, smartphones and instant messaging are said to promote employee wellbeing, newer innovations – such as connected devices, robotics and AI software – are said to undermine quality of life at work.

Although the researchers did not investigate the causes of this phenomenon, they note that their findings are in line with those of previous studies that link such technologies “to exacerbated feelings of disempowerment, increased sense of insecurity, task intensification and stress, and loss of meaning, as well as anxiety and poorer overall health” – factors that can have a detrimental effect on employee wellbeing.

Still, the researchers assert that ICTs are not a problem in and of themselves. “We don’t want to claim that there is some sort of determinism in what technology causes, in terms of wellbeing. It really depends on the context, on structural factors, on environmental conditions, how it is designed and how it is deployed. In short – lots of human decisions,” study lead author Dr Magdalena Soffia told The Guardian.

That’s why it’s vital for companies wishing to integrate AI into their internal operations to be more transparent with their teams. They need to guide them and meet their training needs, so they don’t feel threatened by the arrival of these newer technologies in their day-to-day work.