More than a third of American workers say there’s little point in working hard because it won’t protect them from layoffs or AI. As AI-related layoffs have become increasingly common, the workforce is disengaging instead of working harder to save their jobs.
Impact of AI on the Workforce
According to the “June 2026 Challenger Report” from Challenger, Gray, and Christmas, AI has been cited as the reason for 101,743 job cuts so far in 2026. This is nearly double the 54,836 jobs lost due to AI in all of 2025. AI has been the number one reason for workforce reductions in each of the past four months.
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, behavioral scientist and CEO of future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts, says anxious workers pull back to protect themselves. “When employees conclude that hard work cannot improve their security, pulling back becomes a rational form of self-protection,” he remarks.
Employee Trust and Engagement
Employee trust has been degrading for decades. In a 2012 article published by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Adam Cobb, a Wharton management professor at the time, identified the 1980s as a pivotal shift in employee trust. This marked the start of healthy companies laying off workers in favor of shareholders’ long-term interests.
A “2025 Express Employment Professionals” survey conducted by Harris Poll found that 73% of job seekers feel no job is safe, no matter how well the employee performs. And 67% said they used to feel stable in their careers, but now feel uneasy.
Research from Perceptyx, released in May 2026, found that 90% of workers who heard rumors of layoffs experienced some level of anxiety as a result. That number is even higher than the 82% of employees at companies that have eliminated jobs.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
