Bosses and workers are worried about new technology like AI, but for different reasons

• Bosses and workers are both worried about new technologies — but for different reasons.
• Leaders are focused on getting returns on their investments and workers want to keep their jobs.

Both bosses and workers are concerned about emerging technology — but for different reasons.

Leaders are worried about how they'll get their return on tech investments and get workers trained on new technology. Yet employees are nervous these new tools will put them out of work.

The sentiments are drawn from a survey of top US execs released Tuesday by accounting and consulting giant PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

The PwC survey, which polled just over 600 US leaders ranging from chief financial officers to HR heads in early August, found three in four business executives believe their employees are fearful technology will take away their jobs.

"That presents a challenge of bringing employees along," Neil Dhar, vice chair, US consulting solutions coleader at PwC, said in a press briefing about the survey results. To ease some of workers' jitters, Dhar said, many leaders are focused on making sure their employees understand what their roles might look like in the future.

The high-profile arrival of generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT has driven speculation about which jobs are most at risk of being replaced by some form of automation, including AI.

For some C-suite leaders, concerns appear more centered on getting a return on their tech investments. About 85% of leaders reported that the cost of adopting new tools, changing operating models to fit with the new technology, and training workers on the new tools remain as sizable hurdles.

"That's where the real challenge is," Dhar said. Indeed, almost nine in 10 execs reported being worried about achieving "measurable value" from adopting new technologies.

Yet those concerns don't seem to be stopping leaders from investing. Nearly half of execs told PwC they planned to invest in GenAI in the next 12 to 18 months. Already, AI is changing how work gets done — from making decisions on hiring to writing performance reviews. And some employees are even using AI on the sly.

But while the changes could boost living standards, improve productivity, and accelerate economic opportunities, unless governments, CEOs, and workers properly prepare for the upsurge with urgency, the AI revolution could be painful, Emil Skandul wrote for Insider.

You're not going anywhere

PwC's survey also indicated that your boss likely isn't as worried you're going to quit, compared with a year ago.

The survey found that 26% of bosses thought bringing in and holding onto talent was a serious risk. That's down from 38% a year earlier.

The drop in leaders' fears about retaining workers isn't surprising. The job market, while still strong, has cooled from the red-hot one that helped pull the US economy from its pandemic funk. And more than 300,000 job cuts in tech in the first half of the year — plus unease over a possible recession — also likely curbed some workers' zeal this year for plotting their two weeks' notice.

Three in four leaders told PwC they can successfully attract and retain the workers they need.

"Now companies are settling in a bit and they're focused on their current employees. So, generally, business leaders feel good about their current talent pool," Wes Bricker, a vice chair and US trust solutions coleader at PwC, said in the briefing.

A brighter economic outlook

For workers who might be itching to make a leap to a new gig, PwC's findings could offer welcome news: Only 17% of executives strongly agree there will be a recession in the next six months; that's down from 35% in October.

The much-advertised recession has yet to arrive — though one still could. If a downturn doesn't come, sustained economic growth and an overall easing of inflation pressures could help buoy hiring and give restless workers confidence to look elsewhere.