Why employees shouldn't fear AI

WORK TOGETHER: There are many workplace roles and responsibilities artificial intelligence could realistically take over, but leading a team doesn't seem to be one of them just yet.?Management consulting company Gartner estimated that by the end of 2024, 69% of routine managerial tasks would be fully automated by AI. But as tech tools continue to evolve and play a more significant role in administrative responsibilities such as scheduling, organizing and staffing, managers' jobs aren't going to disappear — they'll just look very different .?

"The ability to collect data on how people are doing, how well managers' soft skills are being received and how to get better can now be done electronically," says Sage Seckin Secilmis , founder and CEO of 5fn , a workplace training platform. "Most managers used to have to physically walk around to understand how their people are doing — that's just becoming faster."

Read for the ways AI can make a manager's job easier, and why they won't be replaced by the tech: AI won't replace managers — but it can make the job better

EMBRACE TRAINING: Half of women say they don't have the skills — due to lack of experience and education — to keep up with new tech , according to Indeed . As a result, over 40% of women do not feel prepared to deal with the impact of new tech and AI on their career.?Yet 75% of women said that they felt comfortable using emerging technology in general at or above an intermediate level. This signals that the foundation to improve women's odds with AI is strong.

"As we see generative AI incorporated into day-to-day workflows, the majority of women who feel comfortable talking about that intermediate level or above are eventually going to feel more comfortable utilizing this technology effectively," says Hannah Calhoon , head of AI innovation at Indeed.

Here's why it's important for women to upskill on AI in order to get ahead: Half of women lack AI skills that would help them succeed

EMBRACE AI'S VALUE: Seventy-five percent of employees are concerned AI will make certain jobs obsolete , according to a 2023 survey from accounting firm 安永 . Another 65% of workers admit they are anxious about AI replacing their job, with 72% saying they're worried it will impact their salaries, 67% that they'll lose out on promotions and 66% that they will fall behind because they don't know how to use it. ?

"Employers have to acknowledge that employees' anxiety around AI is reinforced by various sources," says Dimitris Tsingos, co-founder and president of workplace technology vendor Epignosis learning technologies . "The access to information that AI provides could bring many new possibilities to so many more people around the globe, so we can't make ourselves blind to what's exciting about more AI."

Here's how employers can acknowledge any fear around new tech, and work to embrace it instead: How to help employees overcome their AI anxiety