The job perception inventory: Considering human factors and needs in the design of human-AI work

“– of technology is related to its use and acceptance (Davis, 1989).”

“Thus, self-efficacy describes a relatively stable psychological construct that is formed through learning experiences concerning one’s abilities (Bandura, 1977).”

“These include, for example, the socio-technical theory of Trist and Bamforth (1951), and also other well-known models such as the Job-Demands-Resources Model (JD-R; Demerouti et al., 2001) or the Job Characteristics Model (JCM; Hackman and Oldham, 1975).”

“, 2017), which can be defined as an affective-motivational state characterized by dedication and vitality (Schaufeli et al., 2002).”

“, work engagement using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES; Schaufeli et al., 2006; e.g.,: “At my work, I feel bursting with energy.”)”

“These include, for example, the socio-technical theory of Trist and Bamforth (1951), and also other well-known models such as the Job-Demands-Resources Model (JD-R; Demerouti et al., 2001) or the Job Characteristics Model (JCM; Hackman and Oldham, 1975).”

“, 2017), and GCL is caused by the effort to integrate newly acquired information into existing cognitive schemata (Sweller et al., 1998).”

“The sample size to conduct the EFA is slightly below the recommended 150 subjects (Worthington and Whittaker, 2006).”

“ICL describes the load arising from the complexity of the task to be processed (Sweller, 1994).”

“The work in the project is based on sociotechnical theory, and its idea that the complex human system is inseparably linked to technological elements in the workplace (Trist and Bamforth, 1951; Maguire, 2014; Gabriel et al., 2022).”

“Here, the person’s self-concept comes into play, which is closely linked to identity (Markus and Wurf, 1987) and is therefore also captured in the JOPI.”

“The Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ; Morgeson and Humphrey, 2006) is the first attempt to pursue a broader approach in which, besides a wide range of work characteristics, task-spanning characteristics are also surveyed (Parker et al., 2017).”

“Job satisfaction (Humphrey et al., 2007) AI takes over dangerous and mundane tasks so that the human can invest more time in meaningful, challenging tasks (Jarrahi, 2018).”

“The introduction of a new era, Industry 5.0, is based on the observations that Industry 4.0 is technology-driven and focuses on increasing the efficiency and flexibility of production (Xu et al., 2021).”

“Ironically, since the 1970s, evidence has instead shown a negative correlation between economic productivity and intensive investments in digital technologies (Brynjolfsson, 1993).”

“Variety of requirements Job satisfaction (Humphrey et al., 2007) AI takes over dangerous and mundane tasks so that the human can invest more time in meaningful, challenging tasks (Jarrahi, 2018).”

“The vignette consisted of text, image, and video components to maximize immersion (Aguinis and Bradley, 2014) and comprehension (Weber, 1992).”

“, be used to optimize resource usage, plan workflows, or adapt machine settings to changes in inputs (Wuest et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2018; Aggour et al., 2019).”

“There, the implementation and subsequent work design often focused primarily on the technical system with its features and benefits, while the unique capabilities of employees became secondary (Nahavandi, 2019).”

“One important application scenario for the JOPI is manufacturing work, where the implementation of AI systems can, e.g., be used to optimize resource usage, plan workflows, or adapt machine settings to changes in inputs (Wuest et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2018; Aggour et al., 2019).”

“change the future of the working world (Zhang and Lu, 2021).”

“In the context of technology introductions, the cognitive load may increase due to the change in the status quo of the working memory required to perform the task (Kim and Kankanhalli, 2009; Kumar and Singh, 2016).”

“Changes on the one side inevitably entail changes on the other side (Cherns, 1976).”

“Together with Gudela Grote, Sharon Parker also transferred the idea of key work characteristics to the context of technology introduction (Table 1; Parker and Grote, 2020), because in the case of changes due to technologies, a good design of work characteristics can significantly influence the perception of this chang…”

“, 2017), which influences how a person feels and behaves at work (Cerulo, 1997; Leonardi, 2015).”

“• These patterns can be applied to different situations over time (Faraj et al., 2018).”

“, 2017), loss of skills (Frank and Kluge, 2019) with simultaneously increasing demands (Rieth and Hagemann, 2021), reductions in attention (Parasuraman et al., 1993), the unreflective acceptance of decision proposals by technology (Dalcher, 2007), and too much or too little trust in automation (Merritt et al.”

“Thereby, a stable self-concept is associated with successful identity development and correlates with openness to new things (Crocetti et al., 2008).”

“That is why she developed the idea of SMART work being stimulating, fostering mastery and agency, providing relational aspects, and posing tolerable demands on the workplace holders (Parker, 2014; Parker et al., 2017).”

“To increase external validity in vignette designs, a high level of realism is required (Hughes and Huby, 2002), which we reached by using various stimuli (Aiman-Smith et al.”

“…is therefore intended to change the technology-driven approach to a value-driven concept (Breque et al., 2021) in which humans and machines work together in a symbiotic relationship (Longo et al., 2020) and which focuses on the human being in the design and collaboration (Bednar and Welch, 2020).”

“In addition, there is a correlation between wellbeing and innovation in the workplace (Warr, 2011; Madrid et al., 2014), which makes it an important outcome to predict a person’s openness to innovations in the workplace as well.”

“To prevent such effects in the manufacturing industry, it is necessary to deeply understand the existing work system and the emerging socio-technical system, taking into account both the technical and the human perspectives (Sony and Naik, 2020).”

“What is missing most in this discourse, both in the past and today, is how employees can continue to work in an AI-induced workplace that is conducive to motivation, wellbeing, and identity (Parker et al., 2017).”

“…a correlation between the variables information processing and variety of demands (Okuni and Widyanti, 2019) as well as a correlation with ICL (Klepsch et al., 2017; Okuni and Widyanti, 2019), which supports the results generated in this study and suggests that by combining both variables,…”

“Cognitive load (CL) describes the way information is processed in working memory and stored in long-term memory in learning or complex situations (Sweller and Chandler, 1991).”

“Another predictor of job satisfaction is occupational self-efficacy (Peng and Mao, 2015), a self-related cognition for assessing one’s ability to cope successfully with challenging or difficult situations by one’s abilities (Abele and Spurk, 2009) at work.”

“Nowadays, strong interest appears especially in AI technologies, which have a broader range of usage and application compared to automation (Ribeiro et al., 2021).”

“The literature also shows a proximity between the two constructs of curiosity and complex problem-solving (Litman and Jimerson, 2004; Powell et al., 2016), with curiosity discussed as a catalyst for engagement with complex problems and challenging tasks (Horstmeyer, 2019).”

“Thus, this factor is only a method factor (DiStefano and Motl, 2006) and has no significance for the content of the scale.”

“Depending on the social context, people develop several identities (Scott et al., 1998; Ramarajan, 2014).”

“Autonomy Motivation (Dysvik and Kuvaas, 2011), performance (Langfred and Moye, 2004), creativity (d’Inverno and Luck, 2012), and proactivity (Kim et al.”

“Depending on the social context, people develop several identities (Scott et al., 1998; Ramarajan, 2014).”

“, 2020) and which focuses on the human being in the design and collaboration (Bednar and Welch, 2020).”

“Thereby, the collaboration, as well as the AI system, is evaluated positively by employees if it supports human capabilities and also takes into account themeaningfulness in terms of job identity (Mirbabaie et al., 2022; Sadeghian and Hassenzahl, 2022).”

“The cognitive load may also decrease (Nazareno and Schiff, 2021), as only the AI instructions have to be followed—resulting in boring, unchallenging work.”

“Identity is understood as the answer to the question “Who am I” (Carter and Grover, 2015) and functions as a mechanism to navigate social reality (Endacott, 2021).”

“The vignette consisted of text, image, and video components to maximize immersion (Aguinis and Bradley, 2014) and comprehension (Weber, 1992).”

“In addition, there is a correlation between wellbeing and innovation in the workplace (Warr, 2011; Madrid et al., 2014), which makes it an important outcome to predict a person’s openness to innovations in the workplace as well.”

“Due to the human-like capabilities of smart technologies (e.g., Huang et al., 2019; Rai et al., 2019; Dellermann et al., 2021), the introduction of those leads to growing complexity in the workplace (Huchler, 2022).”

“An organization needs to create a workplace that is perceived positively by employees to promote motivation, wellbeing, and job identity to benefit from associated resources (Wegge et al., 2006).”

“The resulting side effects can be manifested in reduced wellbeing as well as reduced performance (Reiman et al., 2021).”

“The so-called job identity can be understood as an organizing structure, consisting of various work-related norms, values, and resources (Scott et al., 1998; Reay et al., 2017), which influences how a person feels and behaves at work (Cerulo, 1997; Leonardi, 2015).”

“The perception of one’s workplace is related to wellbeing (Harter et al., 2010; Tausch and Peifer, 2019), motivation (Tausch and Peifer, 2019), job identity (Crocetti et al., 2014), and performance (Yang and Choi, 2014).”

“Which impact predominates depends on the individual’s possibility to act according to their job identity and role in the workplace (Bhargava et al., 2021).”

“Through the reaction of others to one’s own identity, which can be expressed through communication strategies (Watson andWatson, 2012), decision-making (Evans et al., 2004), and the expression of emotions (Rafaeli and Sutton, 1989), one’s own identity and the values it contains can be evaluated and slightly modified.”

“Work demands Changes the demands that exist for employees (Beer and Mulder, 2020) AI takes over monotonous tasks, leaving more stimulating and cognitively demanding tasks for humans (Yang and Siau, 2018).”

“Autonomy Motivation (Dysvik and Kuvaas, 2011), performance (Langfred and Moye, 2004), creativity (d’Inverno and Luck, 2012), and proactivity (Kim et al.”

“For a human-centered approach, the technology must be optimally tailored to the task and needs of the employees to optimally support their performance (Trist and Bamforth, 1951; Waterson et al., 2015).”

“…2020; Kluge et al., 2021) because the capabilities and strengths of an AI system and a human complement each other ideally (Huchler, 2022): On the one hand, the strengths of AI can be identified in rational, analytical decision-making and the achievement of quantitative goals (Parry et al., 2016).”

“Values between α = 0.7 and α = 0.9 were targeted (Hussy et al., 2010) for sufficiently high internal consistency.”

“Another predictor of job satisfaction is occupational self-efficacy (Peng and Mao, 2015), a self-related cognition for assessing one’s ability to cope successfully with challenging or difficult situations by one’s abilities (Abele and Spurk, 2009) at work.”

“The constructs of flow, occupational self-efficacy, and work engagement are distinct but closely related constructs (Lisbona et al., 2018).”

“, 2016) AI can improve facilitated, location-independent exchange between employees (Neeley and Leonardi, 2018).”

“However, as a result, several scales of the JOPI were repeated directly before and after the vignette, which may have led to response fatigue (Egleston et al., 2011).”

“Autonomy Motivation (Dysvik and Kuvaas, 2011), performance (Langfred and Moye, 2004), creativity (d’Inverno and Luck, 2012), and proactivity (Kim et al., 2009) Possibility for autonomous action could increase, as access and storage of knowledge occurs internet-based (Sundararajan, 2016).”

“AI takes over the decision in which sequence and with which tools the switchgear is produced, which could reduce the workers’ perceived autonomy (Welfare et al., 2019).”

“Reduced wellbeing and the fear of being completely replaced at the workplace resulted and persist (Vorobeva et al., 2022).”

“Furthermore, taking responsibility is also closely related to helping behavior (Zuckerman et al., 1977; Greitemeyer et al., 2006).”

“Moreover, work engagement can also be considered a predictor of job satisfaction (Yalabik et al., 2017), which can be defined as an affective-motivational state characterized by dedication and vitality (Schaufeli et al.”

“It turns out that about half of the deceleration can be explained by (decreasing) employees’ productivity (Gordon, 2018), who in addition experienced further undesirable side effects: experiencing monotony (Ralph et al., 2017), loss of skills (Frank and Kluge, 2019) with simultaneously increasing…”

“, 1993), the unreflective acceptance of decision proposals by technology (Dalcher, 2007), and too much or too little trust in automation (Merritt et al., 2019).”

“To capture perceptions of a workplace, it is useful to examine job satisfaction because these two constructs reciprocally influence each other (Wong et al., 1998).”

“Overall, work characteristics and job design have profound effects on employees’ affective and performance components (e.g., Noblet, 2003; Lawson et al., 2009; Parker et al., 2017).”

“One predictor of job satisfaction, in turn, is flow experience (Maeran, 2013).”

“Depending on their design, these can be perceived as a resource and thus support people in their performance (Peiró et al., 2020).”

“It includes positive feelings such as joy and satisfaction arising from personal and professional experiences (Lee et al., 2007).”

“To sum up, the section about work characteristics in the JOPI provides information about job design and requirements, as well as important clues about work resources, demands, and job identity (Braine and Roodt, 2011).”

“These are encountered by persons during their work and then coalesce into a relatively stable job identity that serves as an anchored repertoire of various practices and resources on which people rely while acting (Scott and Myers, 2010).”

“Job Feedback (includes role clarity and task identity) Maintenance of skills (Arco and Du Toit, 2006), performance (Vigoda-Gadot and Angert, 2007), and motivation (Sultan, 2012) AI can provide individualized feedback and thus contribute to role clarity (Jain et al., 2022).”

“Job Feedback (includes role clarity and task identity) Maintenance of skills (Arco and Du Toit, 2006), performance (Vigoda-Gadot and Angert, 2007), and motivation (Sultan, 2012) AI can provide individualized feedback and thus contribute to role clarity (Jain et al.”

“To prevent side effects due to the length of the survey, motivational feedback was given regarding the progress during the survey (Yan et al., 2011).”

“Thus, the motives of choosing a profession already allow insights into personal goals and interests and, at the same time, preferences for group affiliation (Crocetti et al., 2018), which could provide important clues for job identity.”

“The work in the project is based on sociotechnical theory, and its idea that the complex human system is inseparably linked to technological elements in the workplace (Trist and Bamforth, 1951; Maguire, 2014; Gabriel et al., 2022).”

“Social and relational Affective work outcomes such as satisfaction (Santos et al., 2016) AI can improve facilitated, location-independent exchange between employees (Neeley and Leonardi, 2018).”

“Through the reaction of others to one’s own identity, which can be expressed through communication strategies (Watson and Watson, 2012), decision-making (Evans et al., 2004), and the expression of emotions (Rafaeli and Sutton, 1989), one’s own identity and the values it contains can be evaluated…”

“, 2010; Tausch and Peifer, 2019), motivation (Tausch and Peifer, 2019), job identity (Crocetti et al., 2014), and performance (Yang and Choi, 2014).”

“Thus, the stability of the selfconcept could provide indications of openness to new things in the workplace, such as an AI introduction (Rossi et al., 2018; Bhargava et al., 2021; Mirbabaie et al., 2022).”

“The survey was approved by the local ethics committee (no. 750) and conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the German Research Foundation (Schönbrodt et al., 2017) for ethics committee confirmation of clearance.”

“While technology implementations in the manufacturing industry are largely technology-centric (Kopp et al., 2016), human-centered approaches are becoming increasingly important in the context of AI technologies.”

“The literature also shows a proximity between the two constructs of curiosity and complex problem-solving (Litman and Jimerson, 2004; Powell et al., 2016), with curiosity discussed as a catalyst for engagement with complex problems and challenging tasks (Horstmeyer, 2019).”

“However, the reality is still far away from this: First, most of the AI systems in use belong to the class of narrow AI, which includes restricted self-learning approaches (Batin et al., 2017; Hole and Ahmad, 2021).”

“After all, a job in any industry involves the performance of various activities, but only a part of these belong to job identity (Thompson et al., 2018).”

“explained by (decreasing) employees’ productivity (Gordon, 2018), who in addition experienced further undesirable side effects: experiencing monotony (Ralph et al., 2017), loss of skills (Frank and Kluge, 2019) with simultaneously increasing demands (Rieth and Hagemann, 2021), reductions in attention (Parasuraman et a…”

“Evaluation of Work with AI If the AI perfectly fits the tasks to be executed and is seen as a useful support, human-AI teaming can evolve (Bao et al., 2021).”

“Furthermore, successful collaboration and task distribution are important for the perception of the workplace after the AI introduction (Sadeghian and Hassenzahl, 2022).”

“Through a joint optimization of the technical and social system, it is then possible to benefit from improved performance without disregarding human needs (Hamilton et al., 2008).”

“…(Frank and Kluge, 2019) with simultaneously increasing demands (Rieth and Hagemann, 2021), reductions in attention (Parasuraman et al., 1993), the unreflective acceptance of decision proposals by technology (Dalcher, 2007), and too much or too little trust in automation (Merritt et al., 2019).”

“However, such a change in one’s own job identity is feasible only if it is intrinsically motivated and the modification is not too extensive (Soenens and Vansteenkiste, 2011; Choudhry et al., 2017 The items were used in German.”

“A useful approach, which attempts to unite the strengths of an AI system with those of the human, is human–AI teaming (Huchler, 2022; Mirbabaie et al., 2022).”

“The use of AI and the accompanying changes at work can lead to role insecurity (Shepherd, 2006).”

“Furthermore, taking responsibility is also closely related to helping behavior (Zuckerman et al., 1977; Greitemeyer et al., 2006).”

“Autonomy Motivation (Dysvik and Kuvaas, 2011), performance (Langfred and Moye, 2004), creativity (d’Inverno and Luck, 2012), and proactivity (Kim et al.”

“Such an adaptive task allocation brings enormous benefits for the human and the quality of the work (Tausch et al., 2020), and also increases the complexity in the workplace.”

“The work in the project is based on sociotechnical theory, and its idea that the complex human system is inseparably linked to technological elements in the workplace (Trist and Bamforth, 1951; Maguire, 2014; Gabriel et al., 2022).”

“As identity is not an abstract construct but reveals itself directly in actions and interactions (Leonardi, 2015), activities at the workplace should be a valid indicator of the core aspect of job identification.”

“For a human-centered AI integration into the workplace, it is important to determine the current state of work characteristics to derive an implementation strategy and to positively influence their development (Tegtmeier et al., 2022).”

“Increased use of technology often changes the role of the individual from an active agent to a passive controller (Parker and Grote, 2020; Rieth and Hagemann, 2021), which can result in a loss of capabilities (Frank and Kluge, 2019).”

“Especially in a human–AI teaming workplace, the possibility for interaction and collaboration is crucial, as the workplace design is aimed at collaboration (Kluge et al., 2021).”

“Current approaches to accompany a human-centered AI implementation are mostly on a theory-based level (e.g., Degen and Ntoa, 2021; Wilkens et al., 2021; Tjondronegoro et al., 2022).”

“The perception of the workplace is an individual and subjective phenomenon, which can influence the experience, behavior, as well as attitude in the workplace (Stanimir, 2020).”

“Rather, it requires at least general AI, or super-intelligent AI, whose self-learning capacities are comparable to human intelligence and thus enable teaming approaches in the workplace (Batin et al., 2017; Scott et al., 2022).”

“Finally, general wellbeing as well correlates with the perception of one’s workplace (Hvalič-Touzery et al., 2020).”

“Increased use of technology often changes the role of the individual from an active agent to a passive controller (Parker and Grote, 2020; Rieth and Hagemann, 2021), which can result in a loss of capabilities (Frank and Kluge, 2019).”

“One facet is job security, which often suffers in the context of technologies due to discussions about the replacement of humans by smart technologies (Pollak et al., 2021).”

“In addition, the implementation of human–AI teaming is also hindered by the fact that the impact of AI usage is often not elaborated in advance, and thus the tasks of the AI and those of the human are not optimally aligned with each other (Li and Lee, 2022).”

“Flow experience could rise due to step-by-step tasks with clear goals (Oliveira et al., 2021).”

“As a starting point, it is useful to ask about the motives for choosing a profession because such motives may be a predictor for job identity (Ölmez-Çaglar, 2022).”

“Work characteristics Technology use would increase, which could result in new skills (Roth et al., 2017) when workers are understanding the principles and decisions of the AI and potentially how to teach it.”

“Problem solving could become irrelevant or even impossible (Wichtl et al., 2019), as the precise AI instructions provide less opportunities for it.”

“This clustering of scales is consistent with previous research insofar as interacting with others is a prerequisite for helping others (Sozinova et al., 2017).”

“Remaining competitive in the manufacturing industry requires faster and more effective production, with a low error rate and minimal costs (Helmold, 2021).”

“…to synergies (Kluge et al., 2021), increased motivation and wellbeing on the part of humans, by spending more time on identity-forming and creative tasks, while safety-critical and monotonous tasks can be handed over to the technology (Jarrahi, 2018; Kluge et al., 2021; Berretta et al., 2023).”

“Berretta et al. (2023) argue that the impact of AI on workers, particularly regarding the needs, skills and job identity, has not been sufficiently considered in the development and implementation process.”

“Furthermore, while some studies have also begun to investigate the role of job characteristics in human–AI collaboration (Berretta et al., 2023; Coupé, 2019; Verma & Singh, 2022).”

“Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force in the contemporary era, reshaping the dynamics of the workplace (Berretta et al., 2023; Monod et al., 2024).”

“AI is seen as a generator of change, especially in the field of business (Berretta et al., 2023) with the promise that "will be performing 52% of the tasks in companies by 2025" (Arias-Pérez and Vélez-Jaramillo, 2022).”

“The human-centered artificial intelligence application scale developed by Berretta et al. (2023) and Jaboob et al. (2025) was adapted according to the application of generative AI technology in teaching design content creation.”

“KI kann als adaptives Unterstützungs-system dienen (Davenport und Kirby 2016) oder sogar als Teampartner verstanden werden (Berretta et al. 2023a).”

“Automation processes in production are often based on a technology-centered approach, yet a human-centered design of workplaces is essential (Berretta et al., 2023).”

“Finally, the Task–Technology Fit scale was adapted from items related to “AI evaluation in the workplace” in the Job Perception Inventory developed by Berretta et al. (2023).”

“As we stand on the precipice of an era where AI systems can not only mimic but excel in human-like tasks, concerns and uncertainties about the role of AI in our lives are becoming ever more pronounced (Berretta et al., 2023; Khogali & Mekid, 2023).”

“Research on human-centered AI at work evaluates the criteria of job design (Parker and Grote 2022; Berretta et al. 2023b).”

“The degree to which working with AI is considered beneficial to one’s work and how it enables real team-work is captured in human-AI teaming (Berretta et al., 2023).”

“Berretta et al. (2023) underscore the importance of considering human factors and needs in the design of human-AI work and design assessment tools that measure how AI implementation affects job identity, work characteristics, and workplace perceptions.”