Human Augmentation Technologies for Employee Well-Being: A Research and Development Agenda

Bach Q. Ho, Mai Otsuki, Yusuke Kishita, Maiko Kobayakawa and Kentaro Watanabe
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Bach Q. Ho: School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
Mai Otsuki: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, c/o Kashiwa II Campus, University of Tokyo, 6-2-3, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882, Japan
Yusuke Kishita: School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
Maiko Kobayakawa: Chiba Institute of Technology, 2-17-1, Tsudanuma, Narashino, Chiba 275-0016, Japan
Kentaro Watanabe: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, c/o Kashiwa II Campus, University of Tokyo, 6-2-3, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882, Japan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-20

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the style of work. In adapting to the changing work environment, human augmentation technologies (HAT) can provide employees with new options to support their work. However, the agenda for research and development of HAT for the new normal is still unclear. In this study, we set two research questions: (i) what type of technology demand has emerged among employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and (ii) what is the nature of job satisfaction experienced by employees during the COVID-19 pandemic? This study aims to clarify the technology demand and job satisfaction of employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed data from in-depth interviews with employees based on a grounded theory approach to answer the research questions and proposed an agenda for the research and development of HAT to enhance employees’ well-being in this new normal based on the crosspoint of technology demand and job satisfaction. The theoretical contribution of this study is the development of models of technology demand and job satisfaction of employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. The practical contribution is the development of a crosspoint framework to enable the development of HAT to support work while considering their impact on employees’ well-being.

Keywords: human augmentation; well-being; research and development; COVID-19; employee; grounded theory; job satisfaction; responsible research and innovation; teleworking; virtual reality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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