What's interesting: Amazon Robots ??, The Science of Winter Sleep ??
Daniel Wirtz
Better Meetings, Better Work ― Follow me for ideas and strategies to help you thrive at work, one meeting at a time.
Four years ago I wrote a newsletter called "Monday Motivation" for students. One E-Mail every Monday. The topics were centred around motivation, psychology and learning tips. Looking back most articles were missing research and were filled with meaningless life quotes. But it was fine for the time.
I genuinely liked to write. Through writing, I was forced to understand a topic in a way that enabled me to express it clearly to an audience. Often this process was very frustrating – even nerve-wracking at times.
I want to come back to the habit of writing in 2020. Writing in public creates a social contract for me and I think this is a good way to start a new habit.
What is this article about?
"What's interesting" is going to be a weekly format, where I'm taking a look at the most interesting things that happened in tech, science and creativity. My goal is to do the hard work for you and curate the best articles and links from around the web. This will be an experiment for myself and I'm curious how it turns out.
And now, without further ado, let's get into it!
Amazons Warehouse Robots ??
Amazon is currently using more than 200.000 mobile robots that work side-by-side with human workers. The ongoing drive for automation and the increasing efficiency of robots creates higher expectations for human workers. A former warehouse worker reported that the robots increased the average picker's productivity from 100 items per hour to around 300 to 400 per hour. This doesn't come without costs: Investigation shows that the robots increase worker injury rates. In one facility the injury rate nearly quadrupled since the release of the robots.
Why it's interesting: The more robots are introduced to a work environment, the more algorithmic it becomes. The result can only be that human workers have to work more like robots, with increased efficiency, fewer mistakes and more pressure. The outcome of this is clear: Workers need to find a way to keep up, or they will be replaced.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think it's ethical to create robot-like expectations for human workers?
Why we maybe should sleep more in the winter ??
Have you felt more tired this winter than usual? Science maybe has an answer. Studies suggest that humans could need more sleep during winter. This has to do with changes in our biochemistry and physiology – an evolutionary mechanism to adapted ourselves for seasonal changes. Our biological clock changes with the shift in sunrise and missing natural light when we wake up.
Why it's interesting: Although our biological clock changes, the social clock stays the same. Throughout the year we have to stick to the same work schedule. The difference between our biological clock and the social clock is called "Social Jetlag" and it can cause similar problems like those that triggered through jetlag from flying.
Do you have the feeling you need the same or more sleep during winter?
Links that are worth the click:
?? The Highest-Paid YouTube Stars of 2019: The Kids Are Killing It
?? The Darwinian Science Behind the Burnout Generation
??Global App rankings by country
???♀?How to train your monkey mind
?? Mobike loses more than 200,000 bikes
?? Life in 2030
I recently did some research on what makes LinkedIn Post successful and it's early engagement. If you liked the article, please leave a reaction or comment with your own thoughts! Thank you!