An Employee-Centric Perspective on AI at Work: Insights for Optimizing Implementation and Use

The developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) skyrocket and organizations are increasingly implementing AI systems in their work processes. As a consequence, AI systems seem to dictate how organizations and work are transformed. Our view is that such a technocratic perspective can harm both employees and organizations, and therefore argue that research needs to adopt an employee-centric perspective on the implementation and use of AI at work. The symposium explores how individual employees and teams react to, interact and collaborate with AI. Our first presentation offers a detailed insight into how the implementation of an AI-based decision support systems changes jobs. The second presenter will present a cognitive perspective on employee adaptation to advanced technology and highlight the role of individual differences. The third presenter focuses on the importance of employee readiness for working with embodied AI systems and how training can enhance readiness. The fourth presentation discusses the challenges and opportunities when onboarding an autonomous AI agent into a all human team. Finally, our fifth presenter explores whether employees assign gender-based stereotypes to AI systems and how these perceptions affect the integration of AI in the workplace. Following the presentations, we will hold an open discussion led by the chairs, to discuss the implications of the presented studies for research and the implications for organizational practice.