Most people in the UK think AI will take jobs – just not theirs
60% of working-age adults are worried that digital technologies will take over many jobs currently done by humans, only 22% of workers are concerned that their own job is at risk.
This is according to a new analysis by the Resolution Foundation of data from the latest British Social Attitudes survey (BSA).
The new analysis explores how attitudes towards work have changed over the past decade and what they might mean for some of the UK’s long-standing labour market challenges, including weak productivity growth, low levels of job and business mobility and high economic inactivity among some groups, most notably younger people.
The survey covered digital technology broadly, including artificial intelligence, and tracked how British attitudes to work have shifted over the past decade.
Although there have only been small changes in workers’ belief in the intrinsic value of work in general, many feel less positive about the particular jobs they do. The analysis found that:
- Job satisfaction fell from 81% to 74%, the lowest figure recorded in any wave of the British Social Attitudes survey.
- The proportion of workers willing to work harder than required to help their employer succeed fell from 69% in 2015 to 55% in 2025.
- The proportion saying they have an interesting job fell from 74% to 63%.
- The proportion reporting opportunities for advancement fell from 35% to 26%.
At the same time, many feel their job does not provide the pay and flexibility they have increasingly come to value.
- The proportion saying a high income is important when choosing a job rose from 67% to 78%. But only 23% feel their job does provide a high income.
- The proportion for whom it is important to be able to decide their own working hours increased from 46% to 61%, a reflection perhaps of the experience of the pandemic. But just 31% say they can do that in their job.
“Britain’s labour market has changed significantly over the past decade, and so too have people’s expectations of work. Our analysis suggests that workers increasingly want jobs that provide flexibility, independence and financial security. But many feel those expectations are not being met,” said Hannah Slaughter, Principal Economist at the Resolution Foundation.
“The result is rising frustration among workers, who report lower job satisfaction, declining willingness to go above and beyond, and a reduced appetite for full-time work. This ‘dissatisfaction drain’ is self-evidently bad for workers, but it also doesn’t bode well for productivity and labour supply, both of which are vital for lifting living standards in the years ahead.”
