Artificial intelligence has shifted from experimental tool to everyday workplace fixture, and the psychological fallout is becoming impossible to ignore. A new survey from The Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center Georgia reveals that 49% of American workers say AI-related worry has damaged their mental health or well-being — a figure that jumps to 71% among Gen Z respondents. Perhaps most striking: more workers turned to AI chatbots for comfort (9%) than to licensed professionals (6%).
The research, based on responses from 1,000 U.S. employees, maps how AI is reshaping job security, daily workload, and the lengths people go to remain employable — including what they do after hours and where they seek relief when anxiety builds. Among those reporting AI-related stress, 77% sought no help at all, neither from professionals nor chatbots. The picture that emerges is a workforce absorbing this pressure silently, with younger employees carrying the heaviest load.
Key findings from the study include:
• 49% say AI-related worry at work has impacted their mental health or well-being, including 71% of Gen Z and 28% of baby boomers.
• 9% turned to an AI chatbot for emotional support about workplace AI, versus 6% who consulted a professional; among Gen Z, chatbot reliance reaches 17%.
• 56% fear AI could replace some or all of their job within five years, climbing to 66% for Gen Z and dropping to 38% for baby boomers.
• 30% feel less secure in their role than a year ago, including 42% of Gen Z.
• 33% say output expectations rose after AI adoption, while only 7% saw them fall.
• 64% have taken steps in the past year to prove their value or avoid appearing replaceable, including 78% of Gen Z.
• 19% avoided asking for help at work to seem less replaceable (28% of Gen Z), and 17% worked while sick for the same reason.
• 51% applied for or seriously considered a new job for an AI-related reason, including 77% of Gen Z and 27% of baby boomers.
A mental health toll that largely goes untreated
Increased stress or anxiety was the most frequently reported effect, affecting 17% of workers. Other symptoms included diminished confidence in professional abilities (16%), lower motivation (15%), and emotional exhaustion or burnout (14%). Smaller numbers cited financial worry (13%), insomnia (12%), and difficulty concentrating (11%).
The impact declines sharply with age. Seven in ten Gen Z workers (71%) reported at least one adverse effect, compared with 46% of millennials, 35% of Gen X, and 28% of boomers. More than a quarter of Gen Z (28%) said AI eroded their confidence in their professional skills, versus just 6% of boomers. The data suggests that workers with the least experience — often tasked with automatable entry-level duties — are the most destabilized.
Gen Z was also the most likely generation to seek any form of help, with 17% turning to chatbots and 12% to professionals. Men were more than twice as likely as women to use a chatbot (12% vs. 5%), while 6% of each consulted a professional. Women were more likely to worry about paying bills (16% vs. 11% of men). The preference for chatbots over clinicians may reflect their privacy and immediacy, even as it means workers are seeking reassurance about AI from AI itself.
Gen Z feels the most replaceable
More than half of workers (56%) worry AI could replace some or all of their work within five years, including 15% who are extremely concerned. That fear intensifies with each younger generation: 38% of boomers, 51% of Gen X, 57% of millennials, and 66% of Gen Z. Nearly a quarter of Gen Z (24%) say they are extremely concerned.
Three in ten workers (30%) feel less secure about their job than a year ago, while 20% feel more secure. Gen Z workers were twice as likely as boomers to feel less secure (42% vs. 21%), and boomers were far more likely to report no change (51% vs. 27%). Women carried more of this anxiety: 33% were extremely or very concerned about replacement, compared with 26% of men, and 34% felt less secure than a year ago, versus 26% of men. Men were more likely to say their position had improved (25% vs. 16%).
AI saves time, and workloads fill it
More than two in five workers (42%) said AI reduces the time their tasks take, including 11% who called the reduction substantial. Another 18% said it has little or no effect, and 14% said it adds time. Yet a third (33%) said expectations for their output rose after AI adoption — nearly five times the share who saw expectations fall (7%). The most common workplace changes following AI implementation were:
• Employees expected to complete more work using AI (27%)
• Responsibilities reduced or reassigned (24%)
• Coworkers relying on AI-generated work without checking it (18%)
• Employees told to use AI without adequate guidance or training (17%)
• Layoffs or role eliminations linked to AI or automation (16%)
Income shaped who felt the shift. A third of workers earning $150,000 or more (34%) said employees were expected to do more with AI, compared with 20% of those earning under $50,000. But 46% of the highest earners said expectations for their own output had not changed — more than double the 22% of those earning under $50,000. The added burden appears to fall hardest lower on the pay scale.
Upskilling on their own time
Just over half of workers (51%) have felt pressure to improve their AI skills to stay competitive. The share who have never felt that pressure ranges from 12% of Gen Z to 38% of baby boomers. More than a quarter (27%) have practiced with AI tools outside normal work hours, 24% completed an AI course or certification in the past year, and 12% paid out of pocket for AI software, training, or education.
Gen Z workers were nearly three times as likely as boomers to complete an AI course (32% vs. 12%), while millennials were the most likely to pay for training themselves (19%, compared with 12% of Gen Z and 6% of boomers). Men were more likely than women to complete a course (30% vs. 18%) and to worry that coworkers using AI more have an advantage over them (46% vs. 36%). With no shared standard yet for AI competence, the gap may reveal who feels compelled to document their skills — not just who has them.
The quiet work of seeming indispensable
Nearly two-thirds of workers (64%) did something in the past year to prove their value or avoid looking replaceable. The total comes from many small behaviors rather than one dominant one:
• Made themselves more available to managers or coworkers (22%)
• Worked beyond scheduled hours (21%)
• Answered work messages outside normal hours (20%)
• Took on additional tasks without additional pay (19%)
• Delayed or skipped time off (16%)
• Overstated their AI skills or claimed AI use they had not done (15%)
The behavior was most common among Gen Z (78%), followed by millennials (64%), Gen X (54%), and baby boomers (46%). A quarter of Gen Z (26%) overstated their AI skills, compared with 15% of millennials, 10% of boomers, and 6% of Gen X, and 23% of Gen Z avoided setting any limits on their workload, against 6% of boomers. Because asking for help and setting limits are what keep a workload sustainable, the findings suggest the youngest workers may be surrendering both early in their careers.
Job hunting away from AI, and running into it
Half of workers (51%) applied for or seriously considered a new job for an AI-related reason in the past year — the widest generational spread in the study. That includes 77% of Gen Z, 47% of millennials, 36% of Gen X, and 27% of baby boomers. Many were drawn by greater job security (45%) or a role that seemed less likely to be automated (35%), while 31% were drawn by an employer offering more AI training. More than a third (36%) considered a role specifically because it required less AI use, rising to 58% among Gen Z.
The search itself often ran through AI. Nearly a quarter of workers (24%) applied without knowing whether a person would review their application, and 19% never heard from a human at all. In response, 18% rewrote their resume to pass automated screening (31% of Gen Z), 14% used an AI tool to write or revise application materials, and 8% withdrew from an application because the process felt overly automated.
Taken together, the findings describe stress that rarely announces itself as a problem. Lost sleep, eroded confidence, and after-hours availability can each be explained away on their own, which may be why so few workers have sought care for them, even though anxiety and burnout of this kind tend to respond to treatment, particularly when addressed early.
View the full study here:
https://sylviabrafmangeorgia.com/blog/ai-anxiety-at-work-study/
Why it matters: As AI becomes embedded in daily work routines, this data signals a looming mental health crisis that employers and policymakers can no longer ignore. The heavy reliance on chatbots rather than clinicians — and the near-total absence of professional care — suggests a systemic gap in support that could worsen burnout and turnover if left unaddressed.
About
The Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center Georgia is a residential mental health and dual diagnosis treatment provider in Cumming, just north of Atlanta, offering short-term and long-term inpatient care for adults in a small setting with predominantly private rooms. Accredited by The Joint Commission and licensed by the Georgia Department of Community Health, the center treats conditions including anxiety, depression, and burnout. Its approach addresses clinical, psychiatric, medical, spiritual, and vocational needs together, including a dedicated Career Launch Program for people whose work and mental health have become hard to separate.
Taylor Jay
Resolve Marketing
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