If 2025 was all about laying the groundwork for AI integration across the enterprise, next year is going to bring a critical next step for HR: reducing widespread employee fear about AI in order to drive adoption.
Data from Pew Research Center finds that more than half of U.S. workers worry about the impact of AI in the workplace. Despite forecasts that AI will, in the long run, create new jobs, employees aren’t optimistic: Only 6% actually envision AI opening up job opportunities for them.
Persistent employee fear of AI can drag down adoption, collaboration and dent the efficiency gains promised by the AI hype.
“AI is on the rise, along with anxiety across the workforce,” Donna Morris, chief people officer at Walmart and 2025 HR Executive of the Year recently told HR Executive. “I think it really has people extremely anxious.”
In the coming year, Morris says, it is imperative that HR get out ahead of that fear, or risk derailing planned AI transformations.
“It is super important to be front and center and take it back to transparency and communication,” she says.
In that vein, Walmart has undertaken extensive efforts to enable employees to learn about and experiment with emerging technologies—in part to reduce the employee fear of AI. The organization hosts roadshows and bootcamps to introduce the workforce to its new generative AI-powered My Assistant. Employees learn how to write prompts and to brainstorm their own use cases for how the tool and other iterations of AI could help in their day-to-day work.
Giving employees the education to see for themselves how AI can “disrupt” their jobs in a positive way—and empowering them to take an active role in shaping what that looks like—slowly introduces the tech in a way that doesn’t feel “threatening.”
“Our role in HR is to help equip individuals with skills and provide an environment where they’re not afraid,” Morris says.
Hands-on education has also been core in efforts to tackle employee fear of AI at digital transformation firm Sutherland, which employs more than 40,000 people around the world.
As the organization set off on its AI integration journey, leaders knew that employees were operating on the fears they heard in headlines: AI was going to steal their jobs.
That prompted a targeted campaign to shift the messaging: AI won’t displace jobs, says Eric Tinch, chief people officer at Sutherland. What will threaten those who don’t adapt are “AI-enabled” employees.
“Our job has been upskilling and ensuring every employee understands our intent for utilizing AI. It’s not to displace their jobs; it’s to ensure we’re driving productivity, efficiency and utilizing tech to the best advantage,” he says.
Reframing the messaging
Apart from arming the workforce with the skills to become AI-enabled employees, Sutherland’s efforts have also involved demonstrating the real potential of AI to drive career growth.
For instance, the technology can support managers with coaching or assist employees with constructing goals during performance reviews, enabling them to think “deeper and differently” about their evolving roles.
“We have to pivot from the fright that’s been created about all the negative things AI could bring into the market and focus instead on the growth and expansion we can experience when we utilize AI-assisted tools,” Tinch says.
In 2026, HR is likely going to be inundated with the complexities of AI transformation, from developing governance frameworks to identifying right-fit tools. “It’s going to be crazy but exciting at the same time,” says Donna Dorsey, CHRO at Alight, a provider of human capital technology and services.
Despite that increasingly complex environment, HR has to stay laser-focused on understanding employee sentiment around AI—and ensuring the workforce is along for the ride.
“How do we alleviate their concerns? How do we make them understand we’re augmenting their world?” she asks. “It’s not just about AI—it’s about how it makes people feel.”
