The Dual-Edged Sword Effect of Human–Robot Collaboration on Migrant Workers’ Well-Being: Evidence from China

Migrant workers are a unique group under China's urban-rural dual system, and improving their well-being is an intrinsic requirement for achieving common prosperity. In recent years, human-robot collaboration has come forth as a novel work paradigm. Comprehending the influence of human-robot collaboration on the well-being of migrant workers is a vital yet insufficiently investigated matter. With the conservation of resources theory as an analytical framework, this study empirically analyzes data from a two-stage survey of 382 migrant workers in Chinese manufacturing enterprises. The findings suggest that perceived human-robot collaboration can positively influence migrant workers' well-being by facilitating perceived decent work, while also negatively affecting their well-being by increasing job replacement anxiety. Perceived organizational support plays a positive moderating role in two distinct aspects: on the one hand, the relationship between perceived human-robot collaboration and perceived decent work; on the other hand, the mediating effect through which perceived decent work connects perceived human-robot collaboration with the well-being of migrant workers. Conversely, perceived organizational support exerts a negative moderating effect on the association between perceived human-robot collaboration and job replacement anxiety, while job replacement anxiety functions as a mediator in the relationship linking perceived human-robot collaboration to migrant workers' well-being. This study helps understand how human-robot collaboration in manufacturing enterprises affects the well-being of migrant workers.