How to strike the balance between AI innovation and employee experience

• Key Insight: Learn how AI adoption is reshaping entry-level career pathways and workforce development.
• What's at Stake: Rising AI anxiety risks engagement, retention, and long-term talent pipelines across industries.
• Forward Look: Prepare for policy and communication strategies to manage AI-driven workplace transitions.
  Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review

More and more organizations are boasting about their continued investments in AI tools and progressive tech strategies, but is it cheapening their workplace experience? 

According to recent research from professional services firm EY, about half (48%) of employees said they are more concerned about AI today than they were a year ago, and of those, 41% believe it is evolving too quickly. If organizations want to keep that AI anxiety from festering and negatively impacting the state of their current and future workforce, people leaders are going to need to strike the right balance between innovation and ensuring that employees feel engaged and invested in work. 

"We know AI has made people's jobs a lot easier," said Jason Rosenfeld, chief growth and alliances officer for IT consulting firm NewRocket. "However, that being said, there are challenges with some of the newer technology coming into the workplace that is causing a bit of an employee experience crisis."

Read more: AI savings misses 'should be making executives uncomfortable,' Bain says

Employee anxiety around AI remains high. According to EY, 75% of workers are concerned the technology will make certain jobs obsolete, while roughly two-thirds worry it could eventually replace their own role. Another 72% believe AI could negatively affect their pay, 67% fear missing out on promotions because they lack AI skills, and 66% worry they are falling behind colleagues who use the technology. As a result, Rosenfeld said organizations may face growing challenges in maintaining employee engagement and satisfaction.

Despite being the first generation of true digital natives to enter the workforce, Gen Z employees appear to be struggling the most with AI adoption. EY found that Gen Z workers are less likely than their older peers to use AI on the job — 63% compared with 74% of Millennials — and are less convinced of its benefits. Just 72% of Gen Z respondents said AI would make them more efficient, compared with 85% of Millennials and 89% of Gen X workers.

"There is this concept of a broken career ladder that may not exist today but could in the future," Rosenfeld said. "And that chasm [will create a problem down the line] because you need entry-level people with the human judgment needed to complete the work and right now those opportunities are being automated away."

The right balance

To find the right balance between improving AI utilization and maintaining a healthy employee experience, organizations should be identifying roles that can still thrive alongside AI rather than eliminating certain opportunities altogether. While some positions can and inevitably will be automated, many will remain valuable training grounds for developing future talent. According to Rosenfeld, that means that companies must be intentional about preserving pathways for the next generation of workers instead of simply cutting entry-level jobs or streamlining every process or task so as to have clear career development for employees from day one.

Read more: AI tools bring transparency to benefits

"Communication around AI is also still lagging," Rosenfeld said. "It's not so much a matter of whether or not they will be laid off anymore, but more about whether their contributions to their work matters anymore. Communicating AI strategies well, explaining how different roles are changing, and putting people's fears at ease matters." 

While it's true that tech innovation and progress is showing no sign of slowing down, Rosenfeld said, organizations should look at this time in history as an opportunity to create a lasting and loyal workforce. 

"The AI front is going to continue to be competitive in this world that we live in and it's changing by the minute," Rosenfeld said. "However, it's so important now, more than ever, to ramp up investing in people too, because it's humanity that's required for building and growing great companies."