A new Jobs for the Future (JFF) survey suggests U.S. workers are becoming more skeptical about artificial intelligence, even as AI becomes more common in the workplace. Compared with JFF’s 2024 survey, workers in the new late-2025 polling were less optimistic about AI’s effects on jobs and quality of life.
That change comes with a decline in perceived employer support as only 36% of workers say they have the training and resources they need to use AI in their jobs, down from 45% a year earlier.
The American Job Quality Study (AJQS), shows that job quality in the U.S. is shaped by pay, benefits, growth opportunities, worker voice, workplace safety, and schedule stability. The report finds that many employees lack the level of influence they want over technology adoption at work, and workers with more say over workplace decisions report higher job satisfaction.
Those patterns help explain why AI adoption can feel disruptive when employees are not consulted or trained.
Why It Matters: The picture suggests that AI anxiety is tied to workplace conditions as much as to the technology itself. When employers adopt AI without enough training, communication, or worker input, the transition can widen existing gaps across worker demographics.
- Employer Training Is Falling Behind AI Adoption: The report finds that just over one-third of workers now feel they have the training or opportunities needed to use AI on the job. That decline matters because the AJQS finds that access to training and mentorship is linked with higher job satisfaction. Support systems do more than help workers use new tools. They also shape how workers experience workplace change.
- Early-Career Workers Face More Disruption: According to the report, workers earlier in their careers are more likely than experienced workers to say AI is changing their jobs and influencing their career plans. Going deeper it found that younger workers, especially those ages 18 to 24, are the least likely age group to hold quality jobs overall. Lower job quality at the start of a career can make technological change feel more immediate, especially when advancement pathways and training access are uneven.
- Worker Voice Matters in AI Adoption: 56% of workers report their employers have not consulted them about how AI tools are used in their work. The AJQS shows that many employees say they have less influence than they want over decisions involving new technologies such as software, AI tools, or robotics. Employees who have the amount of influence they want over technology adoption are much more likely to be satisfied with their jobs.
- AI Pressure Falls Unevenly Across Worker Groups: Gaps are highlighted by education, gender, and race, including lower access to AI training among workers without four-year degrees and among women without four-year degrees. It also says workers of color are more likely to expect career-path changes and near-term reskilling because of AI. The AJQS report echoes those inequities across job quality. Workers with bachelor’s or graduate degrees are more likely to hold quality jobs, while women and several racial and ethnic groups report weaker outcomes across multiple measures.
- Existing Job Quality Gaps Could Worsen: The AJQS report shows that only 40% of U.S. workers are in jobs that meet its threshold for quality, while many report limited advancement and weak influence over workplace decisions. The report suggests AI is entering workplaces where conditions are already fragile for many employees. Outcomes will depend heavily on whether employers pair adoption with training and worker participation.
The American Job Quality Study – Jobs for the Future
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