Artificial intelligence undeniably creates productivity gains, but it can also encourage feelings of wariness for workers, with many concerned their role might be replaced. This is resulting in a damaging culture where the majority of employees are resisting the use of AI-powered tools. In fact, our recent survey for Lucid Software found just 42% of entry-level workers are using AI-powered collaboration tools compared to 83% of executives. This data indicates that while executives may be excited to limit their execution tasks and spend more time on strategic work, the people doing the work are unsure where or how to start their own journey.
Beyond the reluctance of workers there are also significant technical, security, and privacy challenges which are hindering organisations’ ability to implement AI tools. To overcome these hurdles, it is crucial firms understand what is driving these fears and form a comprehensive strategy to instill trust and confidence within their workforce.
Understanding the fears
AI will change how people work. However, getting used to that new way of working isn’t easy. Our survey found 26% of workers indicated they were hesitant about using AI simply because they prefer traditional methods and tools like in-person meetings or email. Even more challenging is that not all resistance comes from adjusting to new tools, many people also fear what AI means for their jobs. One out of three workers are worried that their jobs could be replaced by AI.
Unfortunately, compounding these fears is the fact just 13% of entry-level workers are engaged with AI education during the week, compared to 54% for executives, and just 21% use AI for daily tasks. With 41% of employees feeling unsure about how AI-powered features work, many are opting not to use them at all. It is also creating a mismatch within organisations as executives continue to experiment with and adopt AI tools without bringing the wider workforce along with them, resulting in a third of businesses stating resistance to change as a top challenge when implementing AI.
Changing the perception of AI
The key to getting your workforce on side is to be empathetic in your communication and carefully address peoples’ fears. This starts by reminding workers AI is not here to replace them, but to augment their work and help them complete tasks. Those unfamiliar with AI may assume using it requires advanced technical skills. However, most of the skills needed to use AI successfully are related to problem-solving and critical thinking, meaning without much reskilling most workers can quickly put themselves in the position to thrive with AI.
Although shifting the perception of AI in a business may sound like a complicated task, the key is to start small. Engage individuals in pilot programmes and collaborative design early in the process. Encourage them to define and help address their own concerns with AI. Then, reframe their concerns in ways that are more intuitive and human-centric. For example, if they’re concerned that AI will provide incorrect information, ask them to consider how they’d validate the information if it came from a person, rather than AI.
Within this process it is crucial to create internal forums where users can share positive and negative examples of how they have used AI in a safe environment. This provides an opportunity for executives to listen to any fears from workers and explain any actions they have taken in a constructive way and allows people to see how others are using AI in new and innovative ways.
Improve collaboration between workers and AI
While it may seem odd to regard AI as another coworker, having that frame of mind helps many people successfully implement AI in their workflow. Much like working with a colleague, interacting with AI requires strong collaboration skills such as open-mindedness, effective communication, and active listening.
Beyond an individual level, AI can be applied to team collaboration, helping to streamline decision-making and scale innovation. By using AI to interpret data and synthesise ideas, it can help teams reach more informed decisions. This helps free up space for workers and move teams on from ideation to execution faster.
Finally, it is vital company leaders provide clear and simple guidelines on best practices with AI relative to security and ethics. This will create a safe framework for employees to experiment without compromising themselves or the business. This includes what AI systems are safe to use with sensitive data and how employees should validate any output to avoid AI hallucinations.
It is time to get on board with AI
While AI can seem intimidating in some respects, its role in our daily lives is here to stay and workers should understand the value it can bring. People aren’t just part of the AI transformation—they’re the core of it. To truly overcome the double-edged sword of AI, we must stop asking “How do we get workers to adopt AI?” and start asking “How do we design AI to work for them?” The answer to adoption is empowerment.
