What Employees Wish Employers Knew About AI Adoption – One Gen Z Xtern Tells All

Like many of your colleagues and customers, I’m newer to AI and want to understand how it might affect my career ​path and my job security. Reading headlines about AI and AI Adoption taking away our jobs made me feel uncertain and nervous ​about the future, until a social media post sparked my curiosity and became the catalyst for me to think differently ​about possible upsides.

Joanna Maciejewska’s viral Tweet, “I want AI to do my laundry and dishes so that I can do art and writing,” highlights ​the difference between how employers and employees view the prospective benefits of AI. While boosting ​productivity and profitability through AI implementation seems like a dream come true for business leaders, it often ​overshadows the side effect of automating tasks—a workforce constantly worried about being replaced. As a ​Generation Z (Gen Z) employee experiencing this wave of automation, I want to share my perspective on this issue ​and reveal insights I’ve discovered about how employees would like to be supported in preparing for AI-integrated ​workplace.

When everyone started flocking to ChatGPT, I was a sophomore in college, anxiously seeking an internship amidst ​widespread industry layoffs. Predictions that AI would take over the marketing industry seemed to worsen my job ​prospects post-graduation. My mind was caught in a continuous loop of questions and concerns:

“If AI is so proficient at performing entry-level and mundane tasks, who will hire me fresh out of college when ​even experienced workers are affected by layoffs?”

“With college curricula failing to capture realistic expectations for the future workforce, am I at a disadvantage?”

“As an international student, will I have even fewer chances than domestic students?”

According to PwC’s 27th annual global CEO survey, up to 68 percent of U.S. respondents anticipate that generative ​AI (GenAI) will significantly change how their companies create, deliver, and capture value. Two-thirds of this group ​believes their employees will need to develop new skills in the next three years to keep up with business evolution. ​It’s hard to imagine companies hiring and retaining employees who can’t compete with AI’s proficiency.

If you feel uncertain about the job market, you are not alone. The majority of the workforce shares this concern. In ​“Artificial Intelligence and the Indiana Workforce,” TechPoint highlighted that most workers could see up to 50 ​percent of their professional skills impacted by AI. Around 40 percent of the workforce will need reskilling because ​of AI adoption (IBM, 2023), including Gen Z and Millennial workers (JFF, 2023). Many students believe AI will make ​it more difficult to get a job post-graduation rather than providing more opportunities. These impacts are expected ​in the next 3-5 years, creating a universal sense of urgency across the workforce.

What I Know Now about AI’s Real Impact

Regardless of the uncertainty, here are a few things I know for sure. ​My role as a Marketing Intern at The Engineered Innovation Group ​has granted me access to information and resources previously ​unavailable to me as a student. Through the Xtern program by ​TechPoint, I have gained invaluable knowledge and support that I ​now understand is available to and would benefit all students and ​employees across the state of Indiana. Regardless of your state of ​residence, the first step is to get curious about resources available ​to you.

TechPoint’s report emphasizes that the primary impact of AI will be on skills rather than on roles. There is a ​consensus that AI will predominantly play an augmenting role (86 percent of respondents), with smaller impacts on ​replacing and displacing jobs. This comforting insight differs from the public assumption that AI eliminates ​opportunities. Instead, AI necessitates elevated skills that complement the technology. Imagine spending less time ​writing code yourself because AI can provide suggestions and autocompletion, freeing you up to refining code and ​identify issues which require more specialized knowledge and problem-solving skills.

Finally, AI-integrated businesses cannot function entirely without employees. Gartner predicts that employers will ​struggle to find and retain skilled labor for AI-integrated workplaces without rigorous training and opportunities for ​their teams to experiment. Skilling, reskilling, and upskilling activities are crucial to bridging the gap between current ​and future demands. TechPoint’s survey on the foundational skills most impacted by AI reveals an increased demand ​for human-to-human interactions in the workplace. While AI tools efficiently complete analytical tasks, they lack the ​capability for communication, critical thinking, and relationship-building due to their absence of human emotions. ​Interpersonal communication skills are one of the best ways for current and prospective employees to demonstrate ​their value.

4 Strategies to Accelerate AI Awareness & Adoption

I’m grateful that regional organizations like TechPoint and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) ​have initiated programs such as Mission 41K and the Regional Economic Acceleration & Development Initiative ​(READI) to support employees in securing jobs and leaders in establishing new businesses in this AI age. I am one of ​many students benefiting from TechPoint’s Xtern program, which introduces us to internship opportunities in ​Indiana. Without it, I would not have considered Indiana as a place to develop my career, as I was unaware of the ​state’s potential as well as the resources available to me.

What I’ve discovered from my experience is that every employer can create a program to minimize fear and to ​support their current and future employees while incorporating AI into their business models:

1. Give Time Back to Employees: Focus on freeing up administrative burden using AI to give time back to ​employees to do higher value work. Simple examples include automating status updates and standard reports. This ​makes AI additive and approachable, rather than scary.

2. Articulate Your Long-Term Vision for AI to Your Employees: Create and share your roadmap for future AI cases. ​And call out specifically what role employees vs. AI tools will be in each use case. This demonstrates that your human ​workers remain indispensable and sets the stage for upskilling to come.

3. Evaluate and Train Current Employees: Up to 60 percent of adults believe AI-related learning opportunities ​should be offered to workers (JFF, 2023). Assess and train current employees to get employees ready to evolve.

4. Ensure Ethical Standards and Clear Communication: Introducing new technologies requires open ​communication that incorporates employees’ perspectives and strong guidelines to prevent the misuse of AI ​models. Engage employees in conversations about the ethical use of AI in your organization.

Ultimately, we do not want a world where AI replaces humans in every task. When employees and employers both ​see AI as an opportunity rather than a threat, it fosters an environment that values and promotes what my colleague, ​Charlene Tay, Sr. Director, AI & Data Science at The Engineered Innovation Group, describes as “ongoing efforts to ​ensure its responsible development and deployment.” Including employees in discussions about AI implementation ​and workforce transformation is essential to adoption and success. By alleviating the fear of AI, workers of my ​generation can confidently harness AI benefits while contributing values in our own unique ways.

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