AI makes workers more skilled but lonelier & less healthy – PEX Research & Reports News

PEX Network’s weekly news bulletin rounds up the latest research, reports and publications in the areas of operational excellence (OPEX), digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, business process management (BPM), process mining/intelligence and more.

This week includes:

• AI makes workers lonelier and less healthy
• AI unleashes new skills and opportunities for office workers
• Interactive process mining addresses healthcare challenges
• Lars Reinkemeyer announces publication of Process Intelligence in Action
• Navigating digital transformation in retail
• Lean digital transformation and RPA streamline healthcare expense claims process

AI makes workers lonelier and less healthy

A set of four new studies have revealed that employees who use AI as a core part of their jobs report feeling lonelier, drinking more and suffering from insomnia more than employees who don’t. The research, conducted by David De Cremer, professor of management and technology at Northeastern University and Joel Koopman, professor of business administration at the Mays Business School of Texas A&M University, found the more employees collaborate with AI (as it helps to complete more tasks) the more they feel socially deprived as work takes over their entire day.

“The overall goals of our studies were (1) to test how working with AI affects the connection (or more accurately, the lack thereof) they feel with their human coworkers, and (2) to document the very real and damaging consequences of that lack of connection,” the pair wrote for Harvard Business Review. “We examined different types of AI in a globally diversified sample to show the broad generalizability and applicability of our findings. Each study was designed to reinforce the core message of our paper, and as a whole, they paint a concerning picture for the well-being of employees using AI in their work.”

READ: The guide to AI in operational excellence

AI unleashes new skills and opportunities for office workers

In contrast, an independent study by Censuswide, sponsored by Jitterbit, a global leader in transformation and automation, revealed the promise AI is creating for office workers, with many seeing it offer new skills and personal growth opportunities. The study surveyed 1,022 full-time office workers in the UK and US, uncovering positivity about working with AI technology in professional settings. As many as 96 percent of respondents believe AI can enhance their professional skills, with 85 percent expecting AI to improve their roles.

Younger workers (18 to 25-year-olds) are most excited about AI-enhanced skills, the study found. The top three skills office workers want to learn through AI are analytical and statistical skills (36 percent), financial management skills (35 percent) and coding and development (32 percent.”  The top anticipated benefits of AI include reducing time spent gathering information from work systems and applications (46 percent), increasing time for thoughtful work (33 percent) and providing more time for larger projects (33 percent).

READ: AI-exposed sectors see five-fold labor productivity gains

Interactive process mining addresses healthcare challenges

A new Journal of Healthcare Informatics Research paper has examined using incremental and interactive process discovery techniques in the healthcare domain. Though healthcare presents unique challenges, such as high process execution variability and poor data quality, the case study demonstrates that an interactive process mining approach can effectively address these hurdles.

“From a scientific perspective, this case study contributes to the field of process mining and business process management by addressing two state-of-the-art challenges, i.e., determining a suitable level of details for process activities and augmenting process mining with common sense and expertise,” the authors wrote.

Lars Reinkemeyer announces publication of Process Intelligence in Action

Process mining and process intelligence thought leader Lars Reinkemeyer announced the publication of his new book Process Intelligence in Action: Taking process mining to the next level.

Available for purchase via SpringerLink, the book provides operational, step-by-step tips for accelerating process transformation, showcases 12 real-world use cases with large international companies explaining how they applied process intelligence and presents the implications of generative AI including scenarios, challenges and recommendations for future usage.

DOWNLOAD: The power of process intelligence: 2024 industry report

Navigating digital transformation in retail

Data from Coresight Research revealed strategies and challenges of cost and margin management in the retail sector via the lens of digital transformation technologies. The state of retail operations and opportunities to drive store efficiency infographic is based on a global survey of key decision-makers.

Key findings include:

• Operational planning was the most-challenging cost to manage in the last 12 months.
• AI and machine learning are the technologies most retailers expect to proactively identify hidden costs, followed by data analytics tools and prescriptive analytics.
• Access to customizable technology is the biggest challenge to making operations adaptive to fast-changing retail environments.

Lean digital transformation and RPA streamline healthcare expense claims process

A new scientific report has assessed lean digital transformation through robotic process automation (RPA) in healthcare. It is crucial for healthcare providers to accurately submit medical expense claims to avoid incorrect deductions but changes in healthcare policies and adjustments in hospital management strategies has resulted in hospitals expending significant manpower and time on the medical expense claims process, according to the researchers.

The research details a case study of using the Lean Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) management approach to identify wasteful and non-value-added steps in the process, along with introducing RPA tools to replace manual operations.

The study outlines a 380-minute process reduction time and an enhancement of process cycle efficiency (PCE) from 69.07 to 95.54 percent, validating a real-world case of Lean digital transformation in healthcare institutions. “It enables human resources to be allocated to more valuable and creative tasks while assisting hospitals in providing more comprehensive and patient-centric services,” the researchers wrote.

The key to revenue growth, productivity gains, and operational excellence

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