If you're worried that robots are coming for your job, you can relax -- unless you're a manager. A new survey-based study explains how automation is reshaping the workplace in unexpected ways. Robots can improve efficiency and quality, reduce costs, and even help create more jobs for their human counterparts. But more robots can also reduce the need for managers. The study is titled "The Robot Revolution: Managerial and Employment Consequences for Firms."

Last year, seven U.S. states including California and New York approved future increases in their hourly minimums to $12 or more. Two new economic studies say such changes can also help machines take jobs from human workers. A working paper distributed by the National Bureau for Economic Research last month leans on historical data to suggest that minimum-wage hikes increase the chances some low-skilled workers will be replaced by machines. A separate study of 14 advanced economies found that the balance between humans and robots shifted away from humans after the introduction of new job-protection rules, like longer notice periods and increased severance payments. The studies are timely because rapid advances in artificial intelligence have sparked a debate about their impact on jobs.

BY PATRICK WATSON: The news headlines after last week's jobs report proved it again: Life is hard (and getting harder) for low-skilled workers. Illegal immigrants take their service industry jobs. Robots take their manufacturing industry jobs. According to the media, many low-skilled workers have simply given up. Their lives are terrible, and everyone wants to help.