Rust out - How can AI & Automation enable employees to avoid it

Rusting or burning

Recently I was reading an old article in the *Guardian from 2008 and it discussed a concept I had not heard of before – Rust Out. While burnout is a well-known concept, there is another workplace phenomenon that has gained recognition: rust-out, characterized by boredom and disengagement.

Rust-out often stems from a sense of going nowhere, crawling along or moving “at a snail’s pace” in contrast to burnout, which arises from constantly going at it or a relentless pursuit of goals. Both rust-out and burnout can have detrimental effects if experienced for prolonged periods.

While it is unrealistic to expect constant enjoyment from our jobs, research suggests that maintaining a healthy work-life balance can help protect against burnout and having more stimulating work environments and jobs. However, in our efforts to avoid burnout, are we inadvertently exposing ourselves to a different challenge—monotony and boredom?

Rust-out and burn out share familiar traits, leaving individuals feeling uninspired and uninterested due to a lack of stimulation and connection. It can manifest as a lack of drive to tackle projects with enthusiasm, tetchiness towards colleagues, or a general sense of monotony in day-to-day work.

Recognizing the signs of rust-out is crucial for individuals and organizations alike. By acknowledging this phenomenon, proactive steps can be taken to reinvigorate work environments, reignite employees' passion, and create opportunities for growth and fulfilment.

Embracing Automation and AI for employee experience and Business Excellence

This is where the ever-evolving landscape of technological advancements can support, enable, and allow people to work on more fulfilling tasks – this is where automation and AI can be deployed. There is often a fear that automation and AI will replace human workers and render them unemployed. However, history has shown that these concerns are unfounded. Instead, automation and AI holds the key to unlocking a plethora of new tasks that require uniquely human capabilities like creativity, empathy, critical thinking, and decision-making.

Automation empowers both businesses and employees by streamlining tasks and freeing up time previously spent on mundane and repetitive work. In today's business landscape, the most sought-after employees are those who can complement & augment and AI. Businesses are realizing the multitude of benefits that automation brings, such as heightened productivity, reduced operational costs and greater employee engagement. This realization has triggered a significant shift in the way we should approach work.

Recent advances in automation and especially AI services allows for more innovative and creative activities from people, ultimately enhancing the consumer and employee experience. As a result, consumer spending increases, generating a demand for new job roles to meet the evolving market needs. With the knock-on effect of having employees who are more inspired and more interested in their roles.

• If you want to further your reading:
• My colleague Jerry Wallis has written a great article on Empower workers with digital colleagues - https://technative.io/empower-your-workers-the-importance-of-human-digital-collaboration-in-your-workforce/
• There is also a great article from Craig John on how AI is changing our lives in general https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/retro-humanity-preserving-human-touch-craig-john/

Intelligent automation and AI is now mainstream

In a recent **Report by Deloitte, it found that 74% of organisation had implemented automation (implemented means 10+ processes) and 46% had or were planning on adding AI to these implementations. I think it is fair to note that Automation and AI is now in the mainstream. Automation trends point to the fact that the majority of organizations recognize automation as a critical requirement for achieving business excellence, improving customer experience, and ensuring competitive success in the coming years. This clearly indicates that the future of work revolves around automation and AI skills and solutions, so let’s make it work for employees as well.

Recalibrate work

While training initiatives and reimagining job roles are crucial steps in rust avoidance, it is the automation of the mundane tasks that will achieve significantly positive results. So instead of fearing automation, we should be embracing new technologies like Automation and AI and staying observant will lead us towards a more prudent and prosperous future.

Today, we can expect automation platforms that incorporate or integrate seamlessly with AI services (Generative AI solutions like ChatGPT or AWS Bedrock being some big examples) and they are to become a top priority for businesses seeking to offer new solutions as well as empower employees. With their intuitive drag-and-drop/low code interfaces, these automation platforms foster the growth of employee supported & owned initiatives and enable seamless adoption of automation and AI.

So to conclude, it is important to strike a balance between avoiding burnout and preventing rust-out. Fostering an engaging and dynamic work environment that challenges individuals, promotes learning, and encourages a sense of purpose can help combat rust-out. I believe that Automation and AI can significantly improve that situation and help support employees to achieve these goals.

Bring on the Digital Worker, bring on the AI and bring on a new and better way to work…and help avoid rust out.

* https://www.theguardian.com/money/2008/jan/02/workandcareers.features???

** https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/insights/focus/technology-and-the-future-of-work/intelligent-automation-2022-survey-results.html