Work and AI, the fear of not keeping up with technological progress

The fear of being cut off from opportunities and relationships (Fear of missing out, Fomo) progressively gives way to the fear of becoming obsolete (Fear of becoming obsolete, Fobo). Fueled by the advance of artificial intelligence introduced into workflows by now more than half of Italian companies (55%) and workers (64%), Fobo affects more than seven out of ten workers (72%) and three out of four organizations, albeit with different intensities depending on roles and professional fields. This is what emerges from research carried out by Randstad's Professional Search & Selection division based on interviews with 780 workers and 275 human resources managers distributed across the entire national territory.

The professional history and predisposition to change of individual workers affect Fobo more than their familiarity with digital technologies or their age. Indeed, senior professionals are increasingly perceived as a precious resource for reliability, organizational memory and judgment. It is no coincidence that 85% of personnel managers and 96% of workers consider them essential. Equally important is 'mental readiness' or the ability to combine emotional stability with cognitive flexibility to manage the ongoing transformation, considered important by 91% of HRs and 98% of employees.