AI is undoubtedly the hottest enterprise technology trend.
However; while the benefits of adopting AI are numerous for businesses, employees are increasingly voicing concerns about how the technology is affecting their work and personal lives.
AI and depression
A recent study tracking the adoption of AI by South Korean businesses has found a link between the technology and employee depression. It revealed that AI decreases employees’ “psychological safety”. This is the feeling that they can speak up, take risks, or ask for help without fear. This lack of safety can lead to depression, characterised by persistent sadness, loss of interest in activities, and low self-esteem.
The study identified several reasons for this concern, primarily due to the uncertainty that AI brings to the workplace. These are:
- Technological uncertainty: “How will this technology fit into my company’s existing system?”
- Task uncertainty: “How will my job and responsibilities change?”
- Social uncertainty: “How will workplace dynamics shift?”
The study also highlighted worries about AI’s ability to automate cognitive tasks, make predictions, and operate autonomously. Many employees see these capabilities as a threat to their expertise and decision-making authority, raising fears about job security. These worries are intensified by the stress of learning new systems, adapting to changing workflows, and proving their value alongside AI.
To mitigate the link between AI and employee depression, the study suggests that employers should practice “ethical leadership.” According to the researchers, this involves promoting strong interpersonal relationships among employees through open communication and collaborative decision-making. The study also suggests that business leaders should address the capabilities and limitations of AI and explain how their employees’ roles will change.
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By GlobalDataWhile this approach may sound a bit wishy-washy, it is at least a step in the right direction. At the very least, businesses should be transparent about decisions that could reshape their employees’ work environments.
A deeper look
The study also touched briefly on the link between AI adoption and employee burnout, recommending it as a potential future research topic, along with job satisfaction and work-life balance.
Burnout is of particular note because it reveals a paradox within enterprise AI’s promise of efficiency. For example, many employees are reporting that their workloads have actually increased since their business adopted AI. One reason is that, as AI makes work more efficient, more is expected from employees, which in turn makes work and time management more complex.
Throughout history, technological advancements that promised liberation from burdensome tasks ultimately amplified them. The invention of the vacuum cleaner, for instance, actually increased the overall labour of home workers because it raised cleanliness expectations.
Likewise, the efficiency gains of AI are not being passed on to employees, at least in real terms. Instead, businesses are using AI to increase their labour consumption, which is becoming cheaper due to labour’s ubiquity.
Such an increase in labour consumption may boost job creation. But the question is who, or what, will fill these jobs? AI may create jobs, yes, but will they be achievable for human workers who need to eat, sleep, and rest? And will such jobs make them depressed?
What’s next?
So, while business leaders celebrate the efficiencies that AI brings to the workplace, employees are increasingly experiencing depression and burnout. At the same time, they are being told their work will become easier and faster.
The study advocated for “ethical leadership” as a potential solution to the anxiety employees feel towards AI. But ethical leaders may be powerless against the market forces that are beginning to shape how AI impacts employers. Unless regulation or serious guardrails are put in place regarding the application of enterprise AI, employees will be left to navigate an increasingly complex, uncertain, and demanding work environment.
