After a whirlwind relationship with AI, workers are waking up to the sobering reality of the technology’s adoption.
Workforce solution firm ManpowerGroup’s 2026 Global Talent Barometer found that worker relationships with AI have grown complicated. The study—based on interviews with nearly 14,000 workers across 19 countries—found that while regular AI usage jumped among workers by 13% in 2025, confidence in the technology’s use plummeted by 18%.
“AI adoption is accelerating, but confidence is collapsing,” Mara Stefan, VP of global insights at ManpowerGroup, told Fortune. “Workers are being handed tools without training, context, or support.”
The confidence gap isn’t hitting everyone equally. It’s most pronounced among older workers, with a 35% decrease in confidence among baby boomers and a 25% drop among gen X workers. As the technology becomes a daily requirement, the workforce—and especially its most experienced members—is feeling left behind.
The training void
Business leaders remain bullish on AI and the era of productivity the technology can usher in, finding the marriage between workers and AI a promising venture. Jamie Dimon says the technology could shorten work weeks to 3.5 days. Google’s Sundar Pichai has equated AI to the discovery of fire or electricity in its ability to democratize information. However, the one blind spot for leaders may be that AI adoption has outpaced training.
“The gap is not the technology, but it’s more the lack of tools and training that’s driving some of this anxiety,” Stefan said. Fifty-six percent of workers globally reported receiving no recent skills development even though the overwhelming majority of workplaces globally report adopting AI in some capacity. Without a bridge between skills and job requirements, employees remain in the dark.
That mismatch could explain why many companies have failed to see returns from AI. A recent PwC survey found that just 10% to 12% of companies report seeing benefits from the technology on the revenue or cost side, while 56% say they have gotten “nothing out of it.” Without proper support and training, workers face growing burnout, with nearly two-thirds, or 63%, reporting fatigue driven by stress and heavy workloads, according to ManpowerGroup’s study.
Though Stefan cautions against assuming that AI adoption won’t boost productivity, saying that it’s not the technology, but rather the training void that is to blame. “It would be a bit dangerous to try and say that that the productivity use is not there or that it won’t be there in the future,” Stefan said. “We’ve got to see some of the systems show up in organizations, in terms of managing systems and processes.”
To be sure, many firms are acting as counselors between workers and AI, implementing training programs to catch workers up to speed on the technology’s latest updates. Several companies, including IBM and Accenture, have rolled out internal “AI academies” to retrain staff, betting that skill-building will counteract fear and boost engagement. But for many, that safety net is missing.
Automation fears spur “job hugging”
This mismatch between adoption and mastery is creating a tense environment. In a complete 180 from the Great Resignation, most workers are choosing to remain in their current roles out of AI automation fears. Sixty-four percent of surveyed workers are “job hugging” despite burnout and skill shortages.
Worker stagnation poses a challenge for businesses. While leaders like Microsoft’s Satya Nadella envision AI as an assistant that can “empower employees,” the reality is that many workers have a tense relationship with AI. When AI adoption is not met with investment in professional development, the technology may seem more like a toxic partner than a reliable coworker. The onus is on employers to upskill their workforce to keep pace with AI adoption.
“”People aren’t afraid of AI,” Stefan said, “but they are afraid of being left behind by it.”
