Artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t the next big thing coming down the pike. It’s already here.
It all started with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which took the world by storm. Since then, a wave of AI products have entered the market from Microsoft Copilot to Claude, Perplexity, DeepSeek and Meta AI.
But that doesn’t mean workers are happy about it. Who can blame them?
The World Economic Forum’s “Future of Jobs Report 2025” predicted that AI and related technologies will displace 9 million jobs in the next five years. At the same time, it will also generate 11 million new roles.
A 2025 Ipsos study, cited by People Matters Global, revealed that 65% of respondents across 31 countries and regions fear AI will lead to job losses. This is up from 64% the previous year. This concern is more noticeable in Southeast Asia, where AI-driven job displacement feels increasingly inevitable.
In Indonesia (85%) and the Philippines (81%), anxiety runs high as workers brace for the accelerating impact of automation. In technologically advanced Singapore, 67% of respondents expressed worry that AI could lead to widespread job losses.
And even those jobs that won’t be eliminated are likely to change, maybe radically. This growing fear of AI, often described as AI anxiety, is reshaping the workplace.
The fear is particularly striking in Singapore. The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is already aiming to create 800 new jobs and training opportunities as part of its economic strategy to triple the local talent pool to 15,000 by 2028.
Employers, on the other hand, are rushing to adopt generative AI technology to improve efficiency, cut costs and keep up with or move ahead of competitors who also appreciate the potential future of AI. And they want to see returns on their significant investments.
Both of these competing views of AI have merit, but they add up to one big challenge: Empowering workers to overcome their artificial intelligence fear and start using it for all its worth.
Experts agree workers’ AI anxiety is driven largely by their lack of familiarity and experience with the technology. They also say there are specific things organisations should do to minimise worker scepticism and fear.
Helping employees lean into AI starts with coaching, not just training
One of the most powerful ways coaching can support the AI transition is by helping people shift from fear to curiosity.
We’ve seen how individualised support creates space for employees to unpack their assumptions about AI, many of which are rooted in outdated narratives or a lack of direct experience. Coaching helps employees reflect on what AI really means for their role, their team, and their future, not in abstract terms, but in day-to-day impact.
The more employees learn through guided exploration, about what AI can do and where it falls short, the more confident and open they become. In coaching, they begin to ask better questions:
- Where do I add unique human value?
- What repetitive work could I hand over to AI, so I can focus on strategy, creativity, or empathy?
- What biases might I be carrying that block me from seeing AI’s potential?
We’re already seeing the payoff: leaders using AI to handle routine comms and free up time for relationship-building. Sales managers automating summaries so they can coach more, not less. Team members using generative tools as brainstorming partners, not threats.
But that doesn’t happen through tech enablement alone. It takes mindset enablement. And that’s what coaching delivers.
When we stop asking “Will AI replace me?” and start asking “How can AI support my growth?”, the game changes.
It’s a fact: while AI is a powerful technology, it does have limitations. There are things AI does exceptionally well and others it struggles with.
As a writing tool, for example, AI excels at generating ideas for titles or headlines and producing first drafts. However, it often falls short when it comes to delivering final versions that require nuance, clarity, or emotional depth. There are also well-known risks associated with generative AI, such as hallucinations or the production of misleading or false outputs.
That’s why generative AI is best understood as a tool: one that supports, not replaces, human work. As individuals gain hands-on experience with it, they begin to understand what they, as humans could contribute that a machine can’t replicate.
There are aspects of work that remain uniquely human: the ability to think critically, create meaningfully, and build relationships. These are areas where human wisdom and lived experience continue to matter most.
AI education should be ongoing
As AI continues to evolve, the process of educating employees on its capabilities should evolve as well.
While workers need to be educated on AI and its capabilities and shortcomings, organisations should approach training their people on AI as a long-term, ongoing process.
Education about AI is not likely to be a one-bullet solution. Organisations will need to continue to educate their workforce, especially since we have no idea what form AI will take or what its true impact will be in the years ahead.
In Singapore, where industries are rapidly adopting automation and data-driven systems, continuous AI learning must be embedded into both corporate and national reskilling efforts.
Programmes like Singapore’s SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support (JSS) and even its starter kit with key insights on GenAI implementation can help set the foundation but businesses must play a parallel role in ensuring AI literacy and fluency are part of their culture, not just compliance checkboxes.
Encourage ongoing experimentation
The more people use generative AI tools, the more ways they are likely to incorporate the technology into their jobs to become more effective and efficient.
From a productivity standpoint, AI is immensely helpful because it can do a lot of routine things. In addition to using AI as a writing aid and a coaching partner, AI can also enhance how individuals approach their work.
For instance, some professionals use AI to reflect on how they might have handled a coaching session differently. While the suggestions aren’t always useful, there are moments when the input offers a fresh or improved approach.
There is a commonly voiced fear that AI might replace human roles entirely. But rather than resisting these changes, both workers and employers can benefit from embracing the opportunities AI presents. There’s a real sense of excitement in seeing what’s possible as the technology continues to evolve.
Using digital coaching to ease AI anxiety
This is where human-AI partnerships offer a new path forward. Rather than replacing the “human” in human development, AI can serve as a powerful amplifier. One example is an AI-powered coaching assistant, which supports real-time reflection, nudges, and feedback to enhance, not substitute, the coaching experience.
When used intentionally, tools like these help employees gain clarity, build confidence, and adapt their behaviors in a rapidly changing work environment on-demand.
As part of a larger culture of movement towards being more AI-savvy, AI-enabled coaching can play a critical role in helping people overcome fear and unlock new ways of working.
