Generative AI in the Workplace: Benefits and Threats to Wellbeing

Co-Director, Wharton Human-AI Research and Wharton Professor Stefano Puntoni discusses how generative AI can influence employee competence, autonomy, and relatedness, drawing on self-determination theory. He addresses both potential benefits, such as advanced analytics and workflow integration, and threats, including job security concerns, autonomy loss, and team alienation. This is an excerpt from a full-length Ripple Effect podcast episode.

EPISODE OVERVIEW Wharton Professor Stefano Puntoni talks about how generative AI is reshaping not just tasks, but the way employees psychologically relate to their work. He explores AI’s potential to either strengthen or undermine core human needs like competence, autonomy, and connection. Puntoni lays out why a successful AI strategy needs more than just good tech—it also requires clear leadership and authentic communication with employees. He looks at how uncertainty around AI adoption impacts morale and outlines five ways workers tend to cope, from proactive upskilling to quiet withdrawal. He also warns against framing AI purely as a cost-cutting tool, arguing that companies must grapple with what it means for people’s roles, careers, and sense of value.

PODCAST OVERVIEW Every day, business scholars answer pressing questions in their research - but what do their insights mean for you? In this podcast, Wharton faculty dive into what inspired their studies and how their findings resonate with the world today. Learn how research insights translate into knowledge you can use, with host Dan Loney.

Learn more at http://whr.tn/rippleeffect.

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