What concerns did Adam Smith have about the effects of a detailed division of labour on workers?

While Adam Smith recognized the division of labour as a primary driver of productivity and economic growth, he expressed significant concern regarding its impact on the individual worker.

In The Wealth of Nations, Smith argued that when the division of labour proceeds to an extreme degree, it can lead to the intellectual degradation of the worker. He observed that by limiting a person's tasks to a few simple, repetitive operations, the worker becomes as "stupid and ignorant as it is possible for a human being to become" when compared to the alert intelligence of a husbandman or someone engaged in more varied labor.1

Ultimately, Smith viewed this as a serious social cost of the commercial system, noting that such specialization could stifle the mental development and capabilities of the laboring population.1