Many organizations have significantly increased spending to roll out AI across their operations, and more and more of their employees are quietly wondering whether they’ll still have a job when the rollout is done.
That worry now has a name, FOBO, short for fear of becoming obsolete, and the numbers back it up. Gallup’s latest poll found that 27% of U.S. workers worry technology could soon make their jobs obsolete, the highest share it has recorded and seven points higher than a year ago. Among workers ages 18 to 44 it reaches 34%.
Part of the problem is that people often can’t tell which skills will matter or what their role will look like in even six months, much less over the long term. Employers can’t tell either. What they can do is give employees the tools and the opportunity to keep learning, so confidence grows as the work changes.
Recognizing FOBO Means Looking Beyond the Skills Gap
FOBO builds slowly, which is why it gets missed. Frontline managers see their people every day, so they’re the ones most likely to notice a shift. An employee who used to jump in with answers goes quiet. Effort drops on tasks that technology has started to automate. A new tool garners no feedback where it used to get questions.
Sometimes the signal is out in the open. When an employee asks whether AI will take over part of their job, or all of it, that is FOBO speaking.
It’s tempting to answer with more training, but that only works if training is what’s missing. A skills gap means someone truly lacks the knowledge to do a task. A confidence gap means they have the skill and don’t believe they can use it. The two can look identical from across the floor, and treating one like the other wastes time.
Employees do report real gaps in employer support for their development. In Schoox research, 66% of young frontline workers say their company doesn’t provide the right training to help them perform better. So employers need to give people opportunities to show what they already know. A few ways to do that include:
- Coaching conversations designed to address future expectations
- Short reinforcements that bring a lesson back a few days later
- Checklists people use on the job
- Hands-on practice before a new tool goes live
- Direct feedback about what someone is doing right
Managers matter here more than most people assume. Gallup found that employees who strongly agree their organization cares about their wellbeing are six to seven points less likely to report concern about being displaced. The researchers also noted that workers who never hear from a manager about how AI makes them more valuable may start to feel expendable.
Employee Development Is the Path to Remaining Prepared
Saying nothing tends to make FOBO worse. Employers should acknowledge the concern and show employees how the company plans to invest in their confidence and readiness.
The starting point is identifying which skills people will need, then delivering training that’s specific to their role and usable right away. Telling a server or a line operator to “embrace change” doesn’t help – especially in the middle of a shift.
Learning also has to move as fast as the work does. Technology and business priorities keep changing, and a course library assembled last year may already be behind. Learning engineered with AI can shape training around each employee’s current and future responsibilities, which a generic catalog can’t do.
A good gut check is whether an employee could use what they learned on their next shift.
Make Learning Continuous as Jobs Continue to Change
Employees have been fairly clear about what they want. Schoox found that 40% of younger frontline workers say more purposeful learning and development would keep them in their job another year. Only 23% picked more perks.
Making that happen takes a few steps:
- Define what the job really requires, including skills that are emerging as technology changes the work.
- Find out what skills employees have today and close the gap with targeted training.
- Show career paths clearly, so people see where they could grow and not just which training modules are assigned.
The hardest case deserves a plan too. If a role becomes obsolete, HR can look at the skills the affected employees already have and match them to open positions. Managers can be encouraged to consider internal candidates before external searches begin. Everyone else on the team will notice how existing employees are treated.
Where to Start
Getting started doesn’t require a forecast of job roles for the next five years. Make progress this quarter. A few moves are realistic right now.
- Ask frontline managers to watch confidence and engagement along with performance, and to raise early signs of FOBO.
- Tell employees plainly how the company will invest in their development as AI arrives.
- Name the skills each role will need next and publish the career paths those skills lead to.
FOBO thrives when people can’t picture their own future at the company. Employers who help them understand it, and build toward it, will have a better chance of improving the confidence that AI adoption depends on.
Sandra Moran is Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer at Schoox, the Intelligent Learning & Growth Platform for frontline enterprises. She leads the company’s global marketing strategy, helping organizations connect workforce development to business outcomes through AI-engineered learning solutions.