Ali Fitzsimons
Whether you like it or not, AI is here to stay. But its presence has created a strange duality for many employees. While there’s excitement about what the technology can enable, there’s a level of uncertainty about their future and job security.
As organisations experiment with new tools and ways of working, employees have been increasingly left wondering where they fit in a world where machines can perform tasks that once defined their roles.
Let’s talk about FOBO (the Fear of Being Obsolete)
Our Bridging the ROI Gap Report, created from our survey of 2,000 UK employees, found that although 55% of businesses now advocate or permit the use of AI, fewer than half of employees feel comfortable using it. Nearly a quarter actively feel uncomfortable, and for a significant number, this is rooted in the fear that AI could make them less essential.
At the same time, almost one in three worry that AI could strip away the human element from decision-making, while more than one in five fear their roles could become redundant.
This is FOBO (Fear of Being Obsolete), and it’s quietly shaping employee morale, confidence and experience across industries.
Still, the same research also highlights an appetite for progress. Many employees see AI as a way to work more efficiently, learn new skills, improve accuracy and free up time for more strategic or creative tasks. So, the challenge is not that workforces are rejecting AI outright, but that they haven’t been made to feel that AI technology can be supportive rather than threatening.
HR has a vital role to play here, and that's why we've outlined a few ways in which you can use clear communication, culture and development pathways to turn FOBO from a source of anxiety into a catalyst for growth.
Communicate transparently
FOBO thrives in environments where employees receive little context about why AI is being introduced and how it will affect them. When information is minimal, people fill in the gaps themselves, often imagining the worst.
Your HR team can counter this by establishing transparent, consistent communication about the company’s stance on AI. Sharing the reasons behind AI adoption, how the technology is being used today and how it will evolve in the future gives employees the clarity they need to feel grounded.
Partnering with IT and legal teams to set out ethical guidelines and responsible-use principles also helps to build trust. You don’t need every detail to be finalised to start communicating. What matters most is creating a narrative employees can rely on, rather than leaving them to interpret silence as a sign of risk.
Bake AI into Learning and Development (L&D)
Many employees fear AI not because they oppose it, but because they feel unprepared for the changes it brings. When people believe new tools demand skills they do not yet have, FOBO naturally increases.
HR can help by redesigning learning and development programmes so that AI literacy becomes a standard part of development. This might include tailored training paths for different job functions, regular workshops for hands-on experimentation or mentoring systems where more confident users help others grow.
While our research revealed that 73% of HR managers whose organisation advocates the use of AI, only 21% of employees say they’ve received it. This highlights a clear communication gap in AI's role within L&D - and maybe of L&D plans in the first place - that must be addressed.
And it's important to consider that as AI takes on certain tasks, roles might start to look different. This is why its crucial to prioritise human capabilities that AI complements, rather than replaces, such as creativity, emotional intelligence and judgement.
Our research found that 22% of people recognise how AI can help them automate repetitive or time-consuming tasks. So be sure to capitalise on this. When employees see a future for themselves in an AI-enabled organisation, learning becomes a source of reassurance rather than pressure.
Lead by example
Employees often look to HR as a cultural signal, especially in areas related to work practices and internal systems. When your team adopts AI in a thoughtful, transparent way, it helps to normalise the technology across the organisation.
Using AI to reduce administrative workloads or inform people-related decision-making shows that AI is a practical tool that enhances efficiency rather than a silent evaluator replacing human judgement. This kind of role modelling should give your HR team credibility when encouraging other teams to explore AI in their own ways.
Celebrate human skills
One of the reasons employees fear becoming obsolete is that they equate their value with tasks that AI can now perform. As HR, you can shift this perception by redefining the qualities that matter most in modern roles.
Leave AI to take care of repetitive or highly procedural tasks, giving people more space to lean into skills machines cannot replicate, like empathy, collaboration, strategic thinking, creativity, contextual awareness and relationship building.
When these qualities are emphasised in performance frameworks, recognition programmes and career pathways, employees start to understand that their worth lies not in competing with AI, but in amplifying what makes them distinctly human.
Give employees a voice
Your staff will feel less threatened by change when they help shape it. Instead of implementing AI top-down, HR can involve teams in co-designing how technology is adopted and evaluated.
Listening groups, pilot programmes, open forums and collaborative decision-making give employees a voice in defining which processes could benefit most from AI. This participatory approach not only reduces fear but strengthens trust. When employees feel that the organisation values their perspectives, they’re more likely to see AI as a collaborative evolution rather than a threat.
FOBO is real, but manageable
AI is already part of most workplaces in some form. So FOBO will not disappear on its own, but with proactive, people-focused action, you can spin it into curiosity, resilience and even enthusiasm.
Clear communication, learning-first strategies, visible HR leadership, celebration of human strengths and employee co-ownership help to create a culture where AI enhances work rather than overshadowing it.
The goal is not to eliminate every trace of fear (uncertainty is natural, after all) but to replace it with a sense of agency. AI might be powerful, but it can’t replace the human touch.
Right now, only 14% of employees currently believe AI will help their career progression. By implementing the tips above, why not challenge your organisation to turn this stat on its head?
If your organisation is navigating change, be it AI-led or other, why not speak to one of our employee experience experts today to see how we can help support you and your workforce in achieving its people and business goals in 2026 and beyond!
