More employees are increasingly worried all of their hard work will be for naught, and it’s all AI’s fault.
According to results from a new Gallup Poll, fear of becoming obsolete, or FOBO has gained traction among workers since 2021. This is more than any other polling results about the issue sine 2017.
This jump is come from mostly college-educated workers according to results, with one-fifth sharing they’re worried. General concern is higher across generations, with 3 in 10 of 18 to 34-year-olds paying special attention to the rise of AI.
“Concern about technology making one’s job obsolete is also up more among younger than older workers, widening the generational gap evident in 2021,” the report says. “It has also increased more among those making less than $100,000 than those earning $100,000 or more. Meanwhile, concern has increased equally among men and women, with the two groups expressing similar fear levels in both years.”
According to online Skills-to-Jobs™ Marketplace Unmudl, AI-powered software and tools allows 15% of all worker tasks in the U.S. to be completed much faster, and the potential to change the way 47% to 56% of all job tasks are performed.
“Amid such change, it’s understandable that U.S. workers, particularly those with college degrees, are more worried about what technology could mean for their careers,” Gallup said in its report of the poll results. “Nevertheless, for now, fewer than one in four think the threat is imminent, and with Americans still feeling mostly positive about the labor market, workers are no more worried today than they were two years ago about their basic job and income security.”