Dive Brief:
- As workers use artificial intelligence to explore career development opportunities both at their current jobs and at other organizations, it has created “a new form of workforce misalignment,” according to a University of Phoenix white paper released Friday.
- While employees may decide to stay at their jobs for stability, AI is also encouraging them to be more prepared for career mobility, “making engagement increasingly conditional rather than committed,” the study said.
- Companies that invest in employee experiences but overlook how much their abilities and expectations are changing may face challenges. “Employees want opportunities to grow, and AI may be accelerating their capabilities and expectations more quickly than workplace systems can adapt,” the report said.
Dive Insight:
AI has evolved from a productivity device into a tool to help employees “increase autonomy and navigate career decisions more independently,” according to the report, which was written by Jeffery Rhymes, a research fellow and doctoral faculty member of the University of Phoenix. As a result, employees’ abilities may be evolving more quickly than the systems companies have created to support them.
“Organizations can design thoughtful programs, policies and employee experiences, but their impact ultimately depends on how employees interpret them,” Rhymes said in a statement. “As artificial intelligence expands employees’ capabilities, confidence and expectations, leaders need to understand whether organizational intent, employee perception and workforce capability are moving in the same direction.”
Today’s workforce outcomes are the result of both the intentional experiences companies try to cultivate, but also the way in which workers interpret and understand those experiences and evaluate their own abilities. When those two factors are aligned, it can create career optimism, the report said. However, when there’s misalignment, it can indicate “disengagement, cultural friction, reduced trust and increased turnover intent.”
“Treating that alignment as a leading indicator can help organizations identify risks to trust, wellness, belonging and engagement before they become more difficult to address,” Rhymes said.
The white paper incorporated research from two University of Phoenix Career Optimism Index studies. According to one study in 2025, 51% of employees said they were burned out, and 43% said they didn’t have access to developmental opportunities, despite the fact that a majority (86%) were looking for growth opportunities.
The same study from the following year found that AI added “a new dimension to this gap.” Three-quarters of employees in that study said that AI adoption had increased their confidence, and 66% said the tech gave them more control over their careers.
Rhymes said that organizations can address alignment gaps by encouraging psychological safety and ensuring that talent acquisition, talent management and talent development systems are aligned.