AI Adoption Anxiety Ushers in the New YearAI Adoption Anxiety Ushers in the New Year
Multiple studies have found that employees besieged by burnout don’t trust that AI will make their jobs better – while their managers think otherwise.
January 16, 2025
Two separate vendor surveys have identified ambivalence around artificial intelligence as a workplace challenge to be managed in 2025.
Unily's report, released on Tuesday, January 14, “The AI Reality Check,” found that only 20% of employees thought AI was a "must-have" for business competition, and "36% believe that more AI adoption would have no impact on their company's performance.”
This isn't a surprise: in August 2024, Upwork published research showing that while executives were all-in on AI, the people they managed were skeptical of the technology having a positive impact on their jobs. Through Q4 2024, Slack reported that approximately 50% of workers were using AI -- but many doing so covertly -- and people had complicated feelings about adopting the technology, based on their own feelings about their jobs and the risk of burnout by being expected to do more. The company also found the following:
The data shows a gulf between what desk workers wish AI would allow them to focus on and the ultimate effect they predict it will have on their work lives: Employees most want AI to allow them to refocus their time on meaningful activities, but they suspect that AI could lead to more busy work and increased workload.
So long as the conversation around AI adoption in the workplace centers on improved productivity, that employee sentiment is likely to linger. One big story in the HR trade press through 2024 was employee burnout, which was endemic among tech employees. In December, Upwork's research found 71% of full-time IT employees reported they were burnt out, with 65% struggling with employer demands on their productivity.
So when research demonstrates that the net benefit to AI is to boost productivity, workers don't hear that message as "you'll be killing it at your job." They hear it as "you'll be killed by your increased workload."
The resistance to AI may actually engender some new job opportunities. Freelance work platform Upwork released a study on Tuesday, January 14, noting the skills where demand for freelancers has increased year over year. Among them -- human job coaching. As the blog post explains:
With industries evolving at breakneck speed, the ability to adapt, reskill, and navigate ambiguity has become essential. The very essence of learning how to learn is becoming a critical and growing skill set. And while technology is transforming how we work, it is the human-to-human connection that is proving irreplaceable in helping workers find their footing.
Ironically, in an age dominated by AI, the most valuable form of support lies in the lived experience and empathy that only a skilled coach can provide. The power of coaching isn’t only about learning new skills; it’s also about fostering confidence, perspective, and resilience—qualities that machines simply can’t replicate.
Will access to an AI-positive counselor become part of the modern employee experience? Will enterprises find a way to persuade workers in permacrisis that AI is not going to make things work -- or are we looking at another protracted debate like the RTO one, which is now entering its sixth year? We'll be following all year.
