A recent survey has found that only 22% of global workers strongly agree their job is safe from elimination, and it turns out that AI is playing a key role in that anxiety.

The report from ADP Research, published in its Today at Work online magazine, found that anxiety over job security and AI was particularly acute among lower-paid, repetitive task workers and people at the bottom of the management hierarchy.

“Despite three years of historically low global unemployment and steady economic growth, our data reveals widespread job insecurity expressed by workers worldwide,” says Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP.

These report findings and others, according to Richardson, emphasize that employers must “reimagine their talent strategies and provide clarity” to employees as advances such as those within AI and changing demographics bring new challenges as well as opportunities to the workforce.

What’s driving job anxiety?

Jay Caldwell, ADP’s chief talent officer, says that workers who clearly see the role their existing skill sets will play in an organization’s future, and investment by their employers in helping them develop those skills of the future, will be more engaged, productive and have the confidence to thrive in the next era of work.

“Workers worldwide are anxious about their jobs even with global unemployment at a low level,” he says. “With that, ADP data shows that people who fear losing their job are less engaged at work, more stressed, less productive and much more likely to be spending time and energy looking for work elsewhere.”

Caldwell says that as the world of work is changing at “breakneck speed,” bringing clarity to workers via consistent communication is essential. This takes removing ambiguity and helping workers visualize how their role can flourish in the future of work, including how AI will be a teammate that augments their work.

He says the importance for HR professionals right now is not as much about the technology itself; it’s more around how HR can lead through the technology and bring a workforce along on the transformation.

A new era for leadership

Doing that should involve shifting the HR mindset: Think like a marketer, Caldwell advises, in terms of “promoting clearly and loudly how the organization is investing in their skills. Very often, that messaging may fall by the wayside,” Caldwell says.

Historically, skills development and learning program adoption has been low. HR has to think very carefully about how to make those efforts more valuable and to clearly communicate the benefit, creating the space in the organization for people to spend the time to invest in themselves.

“That’s one thing. Another is tried and true change leadership,” Caldwell adds. “For leaders within every organization, their job is only getting harder in this transformation. So, it means investing in their skills as well because how they lead change within their organizations is paramount.”

Mission and mindset

Another angle to focus on to steady employees’ outlook during AI transformation, Caldwell says, is reminding workers what the mission of the organization actually is. Research over the last decade has consistently shown that workers join companies for purpose, particularly true for younger generations.

“That can get lost in times of transformation,” Caldwell says. Re-focus on what the organization is “all about,” what it’s moving toward and how AI transformation will help enable that journey.

Finally, he says, HR should help redefine the concept of productivity. Lately, reports are common that employees are feeling less productive the more they use AI.

“It’s probably the part of the traditional change mindset, which says as people feel they’re adopting new things, their productivity dips,” Caldwell says.

HR can change the conversation among employees about productivity—from being oriented around tasks to strategy.

“The focus must be less around the production of work and more towards strategic contribution,” Caldwell says, “making great decisions for long-range impact rather short-term productivity.”

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