AI is taking my job! Task programmability and employee job thriving in the age of AI

Technological advances are reshaping human resource management – none more than artificial intelligence (AI). As employees’ roles change in the face of AI, feelings of job insecurity can increase. Drawing on the Socially Embedded Model of Thriving, and across two experiments (n = 550), we examine how the level of an employee’s task programmability impacts information asymmetry, online knowledge sharing, and thriving. We further test the moderating effect of AI-induced job insecurity. Results show that employees with highly programmable tasks thrived less. In roles with lower programmability, employees showed greater information asymmetry, increased knowledge sharing, and overall thriving. We further found evidence that, when AI job insecurity was low (vs. high), the link between information asymmetry and online knowledge sharing – and thus thriving – was stronger. We offer actionable strategies for managers and HR professionals, including transparent communication about AI and upskilling initiatives, to reduce insecurity and encourage knowledge-sharing practices that support employees’ thriving.