This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Workers who fear artificial intelligence is threatening their occupation are more likely to slack off on the job, swipe a coworker's lunch or engage in other counterproductive workplace behavior, a new study finds. This is especially true in occupations where AI is likely to have the greatest impact.
The study, led by Washington State University researchers and published in the journal Occupational Health Science, evaluated the effects of looming AI adoption on worker attitudes and behaviors across 18 industries. The findings suggest that concerns over AI can harm workers and businesses, and employers should pay attention to how they discuss and implement the technology to keep employees engaged and supported. "Counterproductive workplace behaviors are harmful to the interpersonal relationships within an organization," said Tahira M.
Probst, a professor of psychology at WSU Vancouver and lead author of the study. "If you're not showing up, that puts more work on your coworkers. If you're doing things that impact your ability or your coworkers' ability to get their work done properly, or if you're wasting organizational resources, there's a lot of potential harm to an organization, not just to the bottom line, but to the effective functioning of the organization." Research has shown that as the use of AI-based technologies such as intelligent robotics, automated systems and algorithmic management increases, workers may feel insecure about their jobs.
The resulting stress can lead to burnout, reduced job satisfaction and engagement, and worse physical and mental health. Probst and her co-authors wanted to examine a broader concern: what happens when AI-related concerns make workers worry that their entire occupation will become obsolete? "If you're a bartender and the bar that you're working for goes under, you can get another job as a bartender somewhere else," Probst said.
"That profession is not going away. That's not necessarily the case with occupations that are affected by AI. If you're in a profession like medical transcriptionists, for example, where a lot of that coding and transcription can now be fully automated, that's not something where if you are let go, you can just go find work in another organization." The researchers examined the effects of that occupation insecurity and industry-level AI exposure—the potential that AI could displace tasks—on two outcomes: moral disengagement and counterproductive workplace behaviors.
They used an existing, objective database of AI exposure, the AI Industry Exposure index, to identify which industries were facing the most potential disruption from AI, and surveyed workers across a variety of industries about their attitudes and behaviors. Workers in finance and insurance had some of the highest levels of exposure, while those in agriculture and forestry had the least. Overall, workers who were worried about the future of their occupation were more likely to morally disengage at work, meaning they were more likely to justify behaviors they would normally consider inappropriate.
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