Artificial Intelligence and Anxiety: The Human Price of Adapting to a Smarter Workplace

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence is changing the way people work, which means that people need to keep learning new things and improving their skills. But this change often happens without lowering the amount of work that employees already have to do, which puts a lot of stress on them mentally. As employees try to balance their learning needs with their daily tasks, they face problems like increased stress, anxiety, and feelings of not being good enough. Limited time for adaptation and the pressure to stay competitive make symptoms of burnout, fatigue, and lack of motivation worse. This paper examines the human toll of these competing demands. It stresses the need to deal with workload management and support systems in order to make long-lasting ways for workers to adapt to AI-driven environments. The findings of this study show that using AI makes things more efficient, but it also makes technostress, skill insecurity, and job polarization worse. Digital skill gaps and cognitive overload make anxiety and burnout worse, especially in workplaces that change quickly. The study underscores the essential importance of organizational communication, ongoing skill enhancement, and supportive policies, stressing that sustainable AI integration must reconcile technological progress with employee welfare and social equity.