Worker deaugmentation risk in tourism and hospitality automation: evidence from a back-of-the-house occupation

Worker augmentation dominates current narratives about robotics and AI. These technologies may, however, also produce worker deaugmentation, which occurs when technology automates the tasks employees value most while leaving them responsible for lower-value, monotonous activities. This letter introduces worker deaugmentation, argues that it is particularly relevant in tourism and hospitality, where occupations combine diverse manual and cognitive tasks, and advances two propositions. We illustrate them in a back-of-the-house occupation, rating the 14 core tasks O*NET assigns to the cook occupation, evaluating each according to its subjective value and likelihood of automation. Expert assessments indicate that seven support the deaugmentation effect: five highly valued tasks are highly automatable, whereas two low-value tasks appear resistant to automation. These findings suggest that automation may reduce job quality and intrinsic motivation. A two-by-two framework distinguishes deaugmentation risk from beneficial automation and indicates where job design should intervene.