AI Fears Are Fueling Gen-Z's Doubts About Office Jobs
A new report shows young people are worrying about getting replaced by AI as they enter the white-collar workforce.
By Annabel Burba, Editorial Fellow
Gen-Zers don't see white-collar careers as a safe bet.
More than half of prospective Gen-Z employees in the U.S. worry about being replaced by artificial intelligence if they pursue office jobs, according to a recent study by the Edmonton, Canada-based business management platform Jobber. Their fears aren't unfounded--44 percent of companies surveyed in a Resume Builder report last year said they'd lay off workers because of AI in 2024.
"In the face of advancing AI technology, Gen-Z no longer equates a white-collar profession with job security," the Jobber study said.
The study's 1,000 respondents, who were all American students ages 18 to 20, also pointed to economic challenges and outsourcing as some of their top concerns about office jobs.
Jobber CEO and co-founder Sam Pillar says that for generations, opportunity used to lie in getting a college degree and climbing the corporate ladder. But now, "that path is not yielding the outcome that was promised," he says.
"This ... hangover opinion from past generations just doesn't reflect the reality on the ground today," says Pillar.
Young people concerned about AI should consider blue-collar work instead, he says, as skilled workers are less vulnerable to being replaced by the technology. In fact, AI will benefit those who want to create small businesses in those industries, he notes, because the technology will democratize access to entrepreneurship.
"You can use the tools and the automation and the AI to handle a lot of that back office administration for you," Pillar says. "[It gives] you a leg up so that you have an opportunity to be successful."
But while Gen-Zers are more likely than older cohorts to start a company after graduating, few Gen-Z students currently consider this as an option, according to the Jobber study. Of those surveyed who said they have already decided on a career, 68 percent said they have chosen to pursue an office job.
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