Artificial intelligence, it is clear, is already transforming the workplace. But, left untrammelled to take jobs, is there a risk for HR that, rather than a being positive tool for change, it becomes the defining industrial relations battleground of the decade? Nic Paton investigates.

“The rise of artificial intelligence is the next Industrial Revolution,” enthused Gloria Caulfield, vice president of US real estate firm Tavistock Development Company to students at the University of Central Florida in May.

She’s probably not wrong, given the impact that AI has already had within many workplaces. In fact, her comments would probably have passed unnoticed but for the loud chorus of ‘boos’ that emanated from the listening students, and which rapidly went viral on social media. The same month former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was booed by students as he spoke about the rise of AI during a speech at the University of Arizona.

Given that the original Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century was marked by significant, violent and bloody industrial strife – the Luddites, the Chartists and the Merthyr Rising, among others – Caulfield’s words perhaps need be logged under “be careful what you wish for”.

No one, of course, is expecting today’s workers – new graduates or otherwise – to start marching on their offices and taking hammers to their laptops in protest. But there is an argument to be made that, if employers – and HR – are not careful and simply allow AI to be rolled out across workplaces unfettered, taking jobs and livelihoods carelessly with it, workers may not take this sitting down.

Rise of AI ‘hate wave’?

In the US, AI has already prompted many tech companies to take an axe to roles – with Oracle, Meta and Microsoft, to name but a few – shedding thousands of jobs in recent months, prompting in response hand-wringing articles around along the lines of ‘An AI hate wave is here’. There have even been reports of Gen Z workers becoming so fearful – and angry – that AI will take their jobs that they’re intentionally sabotaging AI rollouts.

Here in the UK, AI had resulted in an 8% net loss in jobs over the past 12 months, according to recent research by Morgan Stanley, with entry-level jobs especially hard hit. In June, research by Totaljobs found that 42% of UK workers were concerned by “FOBO”, or the “fear of becoming obsolete” because of automation and AI. Recent research, too, from WTW found workers expect (or possibly fear) that 39% of their existing skill sets will be transformed or become obsolete by 2030.

Yes, AI has the potential to transform workplaces in many positive ways – greater efficiency and productivity – but does it also have the potential to turn into something of an industrial relations and reputational catastrophe for employers that get it wrong? If workers start to see AI as simply a threat, something to fear or resent or kick back against, could it in fact become the defining headache for HR of the coming decade?

“This is definitely asking the right question,” agrees Isabella Rhodes, policy and campaigns officer covering tech and AI at the TUC. “There is a huge push from government and from businesses to adopt AI and fast. And in all the talk about economic growth and productivity, there hasn’t been enough thought given to the workers who will be practically impacted by the changes brought about by AI.

“We are already seeing AI as a point of friction in many workplaces. This manifests differently in different contexts, but there is clear overlap with the kind of bread-and-butter collective bargaining issues like job security and working conditions, especially when AI is used for surveillance and monitoring of workers. AI is often being wedged into workplaces by executives, while the people who are expected to use it are excluded from decisions about what’s being implemented and why,” she adds.

“AI is an industrial relations issue already, at least to some extent,” agrees Alice Martin, head of research at the think-tank the Work Foundation at Lancaster University. “First, yes, I do think we could see a pushback around the fear of AI taking jobs and people’s reaction to that. Whether that’s young workers entering the workforce or others who feel that their job or profession might be under threat.

“Second, there is a scenario, I expect, where we could begin to see workers, perhaps through a collective voice such as a union, begin to push to have more of a say around how technology such as AI is introduced into a workplace,” she adds.

Agreements could, for example, set out expectations around how workers will be kept safe during any transition and how they may even benefit, perhaps through gaining more time off during the working week or being given opportunities to upskill, she points out.

Uncertainty, mistrust and resistance

The speed of change does have the potential to create fertile ground for employee uncertainty, mistrust and even possibly resistance, especially if AI is seen as something being done to them rather than with them, echoes Gaby Joyner, WTW head of employee experience for Europe.

“We know AI is going to change jobs; we’re seeing that already. We’re supporting organisations in thinking how they redesign jobs to include AI. But it is an unknown as to just how far it’s going to go. It will, however, mean organisations will be needing to balance organisation transformation whilst continuing to evolve and deliver the work they’re doing today,” she tells Personnel Today.

“AI is also going to have implications for talent management. So, it’s absolutely something that HR needs to be all over. We’re seeing a lot of organisations pushing out AI, different AI tools and AI agents.

“What many organisations aren’t doing however, or only beginning to do, is recognising that, in order to see the return on investment and see the change they want to the way people are working with AI, they need to build it into the way the work is done.

“Rather than just push AI out on top, you’ve got to build it into the way people are already working. Plus, AI will need checking and that is really important because we still know the outputs often aren’t perfect. There will also be new roles created and activities that are going to be there to augment AI and augment the value of the work being done.

“Organisations will need to be working through the question, of ‘what’s the balance?’. How much junior talent do we still continue to bring in, evolve and train in the way we may have done historically? I don’t know that anyone knows what the perfect answer is right now,” Joyner adds.

Balancing automation with people

This need to strike a balance was also highlighted in recent research by The Talent Labs and Uplifting People. This emphasised that the organisations making the most progress in terms of AI integration are those taking their people with them, those using AI to remove friction rather than simply seeing it as something to replace people.

As Andy Doyle, chief people and agent officer at the marketing data and analytics company Kantar, emphasised in the foreword to that report, HR, too, has an important stewardship role to play here. “Professions are defined by how they respond at moments like this. HR has a powerful opportunity to shape what comes next, and that responsibility should not be taken lightly,” he said.

“There is a growing disconnect between how AI is being positioned by leaders and how it is being felt by employees in practice,” agrees Niki Turner-Harding, senior vice president and country head at Adecco UK and Ireland.

“According to our research of over 2,000 C-suite leaders, only 36% are clearly showing how AI will create opportunities for workers. We need to take a balanced approach when it comes to AI. Any kind of change can naturally raise concerns, especially if people are unclear about the impact on roles and ways of working.

“If we don’t communicate properly about how AI is going to be used, people lose confidence, feel unsure about their work, and eventually they may choose to leave. It’s a slow loss of trust,” she adds.

“AI adoption needs to be treated as an organisational challenge rather than just a technical one. Frankly, organisations need to do better,” advises the TUC’s Rhodes.

“Potentially large-scale transformation like this requires the cooperation and trust of the workforce. Organisations that are seen to be treating workers as an afterthought or acting in bad faith will lose that trust.

“Instead, employers should work closely with workers and their unions when adopting new tech at work – and they should do this early and on an ongoing basis. When transformation means changes to jobs or redundancies, organisations should work with unions to ensure workers are getting fair terms. This is where collective bargaining comes in: ensuring that workers have a strong voice at work on key issues including pay, equality issues and the adoption of tech,” she adds.

The Work Foundation’s Martin advises: “For HR, I think it is really about being on the front foot about consulting workforces on the introduction of technology. Being open and honest about how an organisation might be introducing these technologies, and ensuring that the workforce has a genuine say on that.”

“HR, too, needs to be leading on ensuring there are clear principles that outline how this technology will be introduced and what the impacts might be for the workforce. It needs to be ensuring there are gains in there for the workforce and it is not solely putting jobs at risk,” she adds.

Adjustment to roles and skills

Finally, there will be an important role for HR in terms of managing how existing roles adjust or change to complement the introduction of AI, Martin emphasises.

“For contact centre roles, for example, AI bots are very good at handling the easy questions, but the people who remain are now getting all the really tough ones and possibly angry customers who have not been able to get their problem solved,” she points out.

“So, if we assume a company is making savings from AI-led efficiencies, how do we make sure that that person whose job has now become more intense gets to gain too? Is it in, say, more breaks, better training, progression, salary? I think HR will have a huge role to play in this, in helping this change play out in a way that brings gains for employers and the workforce together, rather than as opposing parties,” Martin adds, in conclusion.

 

Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today

Browse more human resources jobs

The post Could AI become HR’s defining industrial relations battleground? appeared first on Personnel Today.

Source: www.personneltoday.com

Employment News