Written by: Purvi Kapoor, Moitrayee Das
The rapid technological expansion in the wake of capitalism and globalization has changed the dynamics of job roles and skills required, demanding a more versatile and flexible workforce. The introduction of artificial intelligence has shifted the traditional job landscape by automating routine tasks, enhancing data formulation and analysis, and significantly accelerating manual processes. A study indicated that 65.70% of the workforce in India faces a serious risk of automation in the near future (Awasthi & Yagnik, 2025).
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This change is largely viewed as a pioneer towards a futuristic view of the business world by providing an incubator for innovation, increased productivity, and scalability across various roles and sectors. However, the incorporation of AI has benefitted companies in boosting their profits by increasing efficiency and cutting operational costs while neglecting the welfare of their actual profit generators, the employees. A study published in Forbes highlights that 77% of the workforce are lost on how to use AI in their jobs (Robinson, 2024), demonstrating a huge disconnect between technological implementation and employee readiness.
AI and automation have displaced over 1.1 billion jobs across the globe (Ali et al., 2024), giving rise to financial hardships and unemployment. With a surge in job stress and insecurity, employees are coping with the change in two contradicting ways: some are overworking to the point of burnout to safeguard their positions, while others have experienced a significant decline in their performance due to constant stress and uncertainty about their future.
APA’s Work in America survey showcased that nearly 4 out of 10 workers are worried that the adoption of AI may render some or all of their jobs obsolete in the near future (Lerner, 2024). This transition has had a significant impact on the employees’ perception of control over their daily tasks and activities. Rapid automation leads to job simplification and reduced task responsibilities of employees, contributing to decreased job complexity and subsequently reduced employee autonomy and sense of control. As a result, organizations with high power distance, authoritarian environments, and centralized communication may perceive the negative effects of AI adoption as employees might feel powerless and skeptical of their job positions in an unsupportive and opaque working environment.
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AI-induced work stress
The rapid integration of smart technology and AI-driven algorithms requires employees to constantly upskill themselves to stay in line with the upcoming innovations. This round-the-clock technological advancement has led employees to experience an inferiority complex in terms of lack of adequate skills and knowledge about the ever-evolving aspects of information systems (IS)[1]. This phenomenon has given rise to Techno-stress among employees as they are stuck in a never-ending loop of uncertainty and have to live under the fear of losing their jobs to individuals with better IT knowledge or just being replaced by an IS (Pflügner, 2022).
This has become a major factor in employee performance impairment, consequently weakening organizational productivity. It further leads to confirmation bias, as it correlates to the pre-existing notion that technology always supersedes human intelligence and can be used as an effective replacement. This in turn leads to reduced employee motivation as they would believe that technology would always be given an upper-hand as it provides similar results with reduced cost and increased efficiency. A study found that employees who are aware of Smart technology, AI, robotics, etc., are more susceptible to experience less organizational commitment and job satisfaction, increased turnover intentions, depression, and cynicism (Lingmont & Alexiou, 2020).
The resistance to change is closely linked to the disruption of their pre-fitted cognitive scripts. These are the mental frameworks used by individuals to understand and predict their environment. When the incorporation of AI and advanced information systems alters established routines, employees may feel overwhelmed and uncertain about their ability to adapt to the change, causing frustration and anxiety. The stress stems from the fear of inadequacy and failure to meet the new performance criteria, resulting in extreme feelings of self-doubt and mental exhaustion.
Cognitive off-loading
While AI is designed to increase employee efficiency and enhance workplace productivity, overreliance on external automated tools can lead to impaired cognitive skills, including decreased memory retention capabilities, diminished critical thinking skills, reduced attention span, and so on. Excessive use of AI to accomplish routine tasks can result in cognitive offloading, a technique wherein external tools manage cognitive tasks that were typically handled by an individual’s working memory. A study conducted by Michael Gerlich highlighted a negative correlation between over-usage of AI tools and critical thinking abilities.
The easy accessibility to these tools and abundance of ready-made information can discourage individuals from engaging with the information deeply, affecting memory retention abilities (Gerlich, 2025). Additionally, while AI tools can help manage attention and increase efficiency by filtering out irrelevant information, using it for extended periods can alter the attention span, making it difficult for individuals to focus on a single task for a longer span of time. This can further lead to superficial information processing and reduced engagement with complex tasks, ultimately eroding problem-solving and critical thinking abilities (Gerlich, 2025).
The convenience of AI and its ability to provide sources for complex decision-making have increased efficiency in one sphere by accelerating productivity and automating frontline roles. However, in the long run, it can diminish an employee’s ability to independently indulge in strategic thinking and effective problem-solving. Owing to this, organizations can face difficulties in navigating through challenges that require judgment, nuanced reasoning, and creativity. This can eventually stifle innovation and flexibility, hindering efficiency and long-term growth of the individual and the company.
Deepened socio-economic Gap
Adoption of automation and AI has also substantially widened the gap between high- and low-skilled workers. A study conducted in the US showed that 50% to 70% of the income inequality is primarily derived from the substitution of workers with technology, particularly for those who are engaged in routine and clerical roles (Dizikes, 2022). This displacement has largely impacted workers with low technical skills, limiting new job prospects and access to upskilling programmes. Furthermore, a survey conducted by the World Economic Forum revealed that 41% of the local firms plan to implement workforce reductions by 2030 as a result of the integration of AI into their strategies between 2025 and 2030 (Gülen, 2025).
AI augmentation has worked as a major stressor, particularly for the lower strata workers employed in frontline roles, due to the lack of attention given to these jobs by the companies. At the macro level, automation is viewed as a stepping stone to increased productivity, rather than at the micro level, where it plunges the employees into the depths of unemployment. Many organizations prefer efficiency and cost preservation over investing in inclusive employee development, resulting in the elimination of easily replicable job roles rather than restructuring operations to accommodate or upskill displaced employees. Furthermore, the lack of investment in reskilling programmes increases disproportionality between less and high-skilled workers as they find it difficult to find work alternatives in the increasingly AI- and machine-driven labour market, escalating the socio-economic divide.
Potential strategies for responsible AI integration
Over the decades, smart technology, automation, and algorithms have been perceived as a labour-shifting device rather than a productivity-increasing device. The initial integration of AI and tools led to mass job displacement, particularly in roles involving repetitive tasks and manual labour. Many organizations chose to neglect their employees during this transition. Without proper investment in upskilling programmes and training initiatives, employees were unable to imbibe the skills needed to adapt to the latest technological trends. As a consequence, a temporary displacement soon turned into permanent job elimination.
Companies should understand that AI and automation do not completely lead to job elimination but alter the job description. Therefore, organizations should work towards adjusting the JDs and roles of the employees to enhance proficiency in the work done. This can be achieved through investing in affordable and accessible training programs, such as soft skills development, analytical thinking, in-office apprenticeships, etc., to provide exposure to employees revolving around AI applications in a work setting. Companies can also partner with the government to provide subsidized training programmes and reskilling initiatives.
Furthermore, policymakers should incorporate mandatory subjects of AI and machine learning as a part of school and university curriculums to equip students with the basic foundation to meet the demands of the contemporary technological surge. Moreover, companies can adopt an employee-centred approach to AI adoption by placing individuals at the core of the decision-making process and balancing innovation with social responsibility.
Organizations should proactively seek employee inputs and address their concerns to foster transparency and trust. They should also work towards redesigning the job roles to leverage AI’s abilities to complement human intelligence in order to maximize its benefits for both the organizations and its employees. Additionally, in inevitable displacement situations, companies should provide financial and emotional support to employees during the transition by offering alternative job prospects, severance pay, relocation benefits, and so on.
In this fast-paced culture of new technological advancements, the rapid integration of AI can be placed between the frustration and experimental stages of the Kubler-Ross change curve. This depicts that employees have recognized the change but are finding it hard to maintain a complementary relationship with AI and the rapidly transforming IS industry. Hence, companies should work towards preserving their human capital by fostering a culture of resilience, innovation, and emotional support. Overall, this will encourage responsible use of AI and automation as a supplement rather than a replacement.
References
Ali, T., Hussain, I., Hassan, S., & Anwer, S. (2024). Examine how the rise of AI and automation affects job security, stress levels, and mental health in the workplace. Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), 13(2), 1180–1186. https://doi.org/10.61506/01.00506.
Awasthi, D., & Yagnik, J. (2025). Digitisation, Automation and ‘Jobs at Risk’: a comparative analysis of BRIS countries, and a detailed analysis of the Indian scenario. Indian Journal of Labour Economics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-024-00551-z.
Dizikes, P. (2022, November 21). Study: Automation drives income inequality. MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. https://news.mit.edu/2022/automation-drives-income-inequality-1121?utm.
Gerlich, M. (2025). AI Tools in Society: Impacts on cognitive offloading and the future of critical thinking. Societies, 15(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15010006.
Gülen, K. (2025, January 9). 41% of global firms plan layoffs by 2030 due to AI – Dataconomy. Dataconomy. https://dataconomy.com/2025/01/09/41-percent-of-global-firms-plan-layoffs-by-2030-due-to-ai/?utm.
Lerner, M. (2024b, January 30). Worried about AI in the workplace? You’re not alone. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/artificial-intelligence-workplace-worry.
Lingmont, D. N., & Alexiou, A. (2020). The contingent effect of job automating technology awareness on perceived job insecurity: Exploring the moderating role of organizational culture. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 161, 120302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120302.
Pflügner, K. (2022). Technostress Management at the Workplace: A Systematic Literature Review. Wirtschaftsinformatik 2022 Proceedings. https://aisel.aisnet.org/wi2022/adoption_diffusion/adoption_diffusion/2.
Robinson, B., PhD. (2024, September 9). 77% of employees lost on how to use AI in their careers, new study shows. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2024/09/09/77-of-employees-lost-on-how-to-use-ai-in-their-careers-new-study-shows/?.
[1] Information Systems will be referred to as IS further in the paper.
Purvi Kapoor is an undergraduate student at FLAME University, Pune. Moitrayee Das is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at FLAME University, Pune.