Navigating the FOBO Phenomenon: How to Embrace AI in the Workplace Effectively

After Chat-GPT took the Internet by storm this summer, “FOBO” has become the new buzzword in people management. According to a recent Gallup poll, almost one in four workers are facing fear of obsolescence (FOBO) in the face of AI. In the past two years, FOBO in the workplace has risen higher than at any point since Gallup began tracking the trend in 2017.

As technology advances rapidly, workers today are trying to understand how AI will shape their careers. The World of Economics Forum predicted in 2020 that AI would replace 85 million jobs by 2025, yet only time will tell which predictions become reality.

Employers may not have all the answers yet, but they can still help workers, and their businesses, stay competitive against AI. Organizations can reassure workers by offering learning and development (L&D) opportunities, engaging employees and communicating openly.

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Offer learning and development for AI

The age-old adage suggests people fear what they do not understand. Many workers may not understand how to use AI or similar advanced technologies and as a result, fear becoming obsolete as AI evolves. In KPMG’s 2023 global survey about AI, only 49 percent of workers surveyed felt they knew about AI, were informed of its use and understood when AI was being used. If workers are to become more at ease with AI and let go of FOBO in the workplace, this knowledge gap needs to be closed.

Employer-sponsored L&D opportunities give employees access to more chances to acquire new skills, increasing their competitiveness in the job market and improving their performance at work. Though AI may change some occupations more than others, almost all employees can benefit from integrating AI tools into their skill set. An April 2023 Stanford and MIT study found customer support agents using an AI-based conversational assistant improved their productivity by 14 percent on average, with newer workers seeing the greatest gains in productivity.

L&D is also good for business. Research from McKinsey has found that during significant transformations, businesses that invest in leadership development are over twice as likely to meet their performance goals. From junior employees to executives, a robust upskilling strategy for AI benefits everyone across an organization.

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Involve employees 

Just like during any transformational change in an organization, employee engagement is critical to the success of adopting AI. Employees should feel like they have a stake in the implementation of AI tools.  When employees see themselves as respected partners in decision-making about AI, they can also contribute their own insights into how AI can help them do their jobs more effectively.

Beyond helping employers understand where AI can help them most, employees also play a critical role in overseeing AI systems. For instance, a study in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine found an AI tool that helped diagnose and treat patients did not meet performance expectations when identifying sepsis.

No matter what their industry is, businesses should be aware AI tools may not operate as expected and engage employees to identify these issues and fix them accordingly. Workers and frontline managers are invaluable, irreplaceable resources for refining AI systems. As employees become more familiar with AI and recognize its limitations, they will grow more comfortable and competent using AI in the workplace.

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Communicate transparently

Employees with FOBO in the workplace may fear AI will eventually become capable of performing their job duties with little oversight and take over the majority of office jobs. In general, Americans feel apprehensive about AI, with Pew Research Center finding in August of this year that over one in two survey respondents were more concerned than excited about AI.

To reassure those concerns, it is critical to communicate with employees that while AI may eliminate or reshape some jobs, AI also creates jobs. The reality is AI can perform some functions better than others and will always need human oversight. A 2022 study from the United Nations’ International Labor Organization determined AI is more likely to augment than destroy jobs, by “automating some tasks within an occupation while leaving time for other duties – as opposed to fully automating occupations.”

One important consideration for communications around AI is explaining the oversight process. Some organizations have created systems to ensure the organization’s use of AI follows ethical principles. These systems could meaningfully reduce workers’ anxiety. KPMG’s AI survey found that 80 percent of workers agreed they would be more willing to trust AI if the accuracy and reliability of the system were monitored. Over seven in ten agreed they would be more likely to support AI if the system had an AI ethics code of conduct, was reviewed by an AI ethics board and/or followed standards for explainable and transparent AI. Whichever system of human oversight that management implements, employees will feel reassured their employer is guarding against AI-driven mistakes.

FOBO in the workplace can be a contributor to anxiety, and employers need to understand the best way to respond. By focusing on learning and development, engaging employees and communicating transparently, businesses can reassure workers and implement AI tools more effectively.

Niki Jorgensen is a Managing Director of Client Implementation with Insperity, a leading provider of human resources offering the most comprehensive suite of scalable HR solutions available in the marketplace. For more information about Insperity, call 800-465-3800 or visit www.insperity.com.