Does Automation Make Factory Work Less Fatiguing? Evidence From the Manufacturing Industry in Guangdong Province, China

ABSTRACT This study examines the impact of workshop automation on work fatigue among workers in China's manufacturing industry, using data from an enterprise‐employee matched survey conducted in Guangdong Province. Contrary to the technology‐centered perspective, which suggests that automation should reduce work fatigue by taking over repetitive and physically demanding tasks, our findings show that higher levels of workshop automation are associated with an increased likelihood of work fatigue. Mediation analysis further reveals that, although automation may lower the probability of extremely heavy workload, it also leads to longer working hours and a greater likelihood of regular night shifts. These outcomes may in part reflect employers' efforts to maximize machinery efficiency and workers' limited ability to resist intensified work demands. Based on these findings, this study underscores the importance of social context—particularly the power relations among the state, capital, and labor—in shaping automation's impact on work fatigue.