Personally I think that automation is good and strive to do get it done automated. Job fails? Put another job in that recovers it and puts it "straight". That and a robust logging and reporting gives me a lot less to worry about.

Being proactive means I have more time for the more interesting things instead of fixing things reactively. This adds value to what I do and is normally appreciated by superiors.

And anyway - if I ever come to the point where I have automated all my job tasks then I am at the point where I need to move anyway as I reached my apex and it is time to find something more interesting again. (http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Up-or-Out-Solving-the-IT-Turnover-Crisis.aspx)