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AI was supposed to make workers more capable. For some, it\u2019s doing the opposite.<\/p>\n
Half of workers today admit they\u2019re over-reliant on AI, according to a new study from software company GoTo and Workplace Intelligence, a research agency focused on the nature of work. The 2026 Pulse of Work report\u2014a survey of 2,500 respondents of both knowledge workers and IT managers on AI deployment\u2014found that Gen Z workers were especially likely to treat the tech as a crutch, and 62% admitted to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some young workers think that overreliance has crossed a critical turning point: 40% say they can\u2019t get by without the technology. GoTo CEO Rich Veldran told Fortune an overreliance on AI poses a sticky dilemma, especially for younger workers looking to learn the ropes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s only in the rearview mirror that folks will look back and say, \u2018You know what, I\u2019m actually relying on it too much. Perhaps I\u2019m not learning some of the things I need to learn,’\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
While AI takes over more work functions, firms are pushing the tech on employees regardless of their comfort using it. Some, like Amazon, even encourage \u201ctokenmaxxing,\u201d or using as many AI tokens (the basic building block of AI prompts) among workers as possible. But according to Veldran, growing in an AI-enabled company requires a delicate balance between adopting the technology and developing one\u2019s own expertise and skill set.<\/p>\n
\u201cUse AI to take work out of the system because it does a tremendous job of that,\u201d Veldran said. \u201cDon\u2019t cede to it all human judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tension young workers face with AI adoption<\/p>\n
Striking that balance is important not just for career development but for cognitive ability. A 2025 Microsoft study found that leaning too heavily on AI tools is associated with weaker critical thinking.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also a brewing tension between managers and workers around AI adoption. Some Gen Z workers today are actively sabotaging their company\u2019s AI rollout out of fear the technology will take their job, according to a study from enterprise AI firm Writer. Veldran said that\u2019s a conflict that showed up in GoTo\u2019s survey results as well. He said the anxiety stems from the belief that workers will prove their irrelevance if AI can do the tasks they\u2019re paid to perform.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s also the fear of if you depend too much on [AI] what you\u2019re doing isn\u2019t as valuable,\u201d he said, \u201cif what you\u2019re really doing is just extracting answers from AI and not adding a lot of other personal value. Anybody can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s growing evidence that encouraging workers to integrate AI\u2014rather than replacing them outright\u2014may be the smarter play. A recent Gartner study found no difference in productivity returns between AI-enabled companies that have cut workers and those that haven\u2019t. Meanwhile, some employers report reserving raises for workers who are leading the charge on AI adoption, according to a separate Workplace Intelligence survey.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe super-users we surveyed were around 3x more likely to have received both a promotion and pay raise in the past year, compared to employees who have been slow to adopt these tools,\u201d Dan Schawbel, managing partner at Workplace Intelligence, said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, fears of displacement aren\u2019t without basis. Regardless of whether or not AI-related layoffs increase company returns, more than 40% of CEOs plan to cut junior roles anyway, according to a recent survey of executives from consulting firm Oliver Wyman, the same junior roles that young workers take to start their climb up the company ladder.<\/p>\n
That leaves Gen Z in a tough spot: either adopt the technology and risk growing dependent on it, or resist it and get left behind.<\/p>\n
Veldran framed it as a generational reckoning. \u201cYou haven\u2019t had those experiences necessarily where you\u2019re formulating a strategy, you had to do the work yourself, you had to earn your stripes,\u201d he said. \u201cYou learn from those experiences and that gives you confidence as you move up the chain.\u201d<\/p>\n
#Gen #overrelying #workand #cost #careers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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