As workplaces begin to adapt to artificial intelligence as their newest colleague, millennials in India are increasingly worried that the technology could soon replace them. Nearly half of them believe their roles AI can make a switch in their jobs within the next three to five years.
According to the ‘Voice of India on Artificial Intelligence’ report released by Great Place to Work, a global workplace culture research and consulting organisation, 49% of millennial employees express concern about AI-driven job displacement. The report, based on responses from professionals across industries and experience levels, maps how employees perceive AI’s rise, its workplace impact, and the cultural shifts that accompany its adoption.
Millennials most anxious, but Gen Z not far behind
While millennials emerge as the most anxious generation in the workforce, they are not alone in their apprehension. The report shows that 49% of millennials fear AI could replace their jobs in the coming years, with 23% agreeing to a large extent and 26% to a moderate extent.
Gen Z follows closely at 45%, suggesting that younger professionals entering the workforce are equally uneasy about automation. Among Gen X and older employees, the concern drops to 35%, indicating that the sense of vulnerability is sharper among younger, tech-facing cohorts.
Interestingly, this concern cuts across experience levels: the report notes that between 42% and 58% of employees across different career stages share similar worries. This suggests that AI-related job insecurity has become a common undercurrent across India’s workplaces, regardless of seniority or tenure.
AI anxiety is quietly fuelling employee exits
The report finds a clear link between fear of AI and employees’ intent to leave their organisations. Among those worried that artificial intelligence could replace their roles, at least 40% are actively considering an exit.
Within this group:
20–28% are planning to leave but have not yet begun searching,
4–7% are already looking for new opportunities,
18–32% want to leave but feel unable to,
while 16–23% remain content, and 19–27% are undecided.
The findings suggest that AI-related apprehension is becoming a subtle but significant factor in employee attrition, influencing how secure workers feel about their future in the organisation.
How far have Indian workplaces adopted AI?
Overall, 67% of surveyed employees report that their organisation is at an intermediate or advanced stage of AI implementation.
Here’s how AI adoption breaks down:
–No adoption: 6.98%
–No immediate plans: 10.15%
–Exploring stage: 16.12%
–Pilot phase: 38.23%
–Intermediate or Advanced: 28.53%
Implying that a majority of organisations are past the experimental phase and are integrating AI in measurable ways.
IT leads India’s AI push
The Information Technology (IT) sector is at the forefront, with 38% of firms at advanced or intermediate AI stages. It is followed by Financial Services and Insurance (32%), Professional Services (29%), Biotech/Pharma (26%), Manufacturing (23%), Retail (24%), and Hospitality (23%).
Non-profit organisations lag significantly at 15%, indicating that AI penetration remains uneven across sectors.
When it comes to awareness about AI’s benefits and risks, IT and Financial Services again lead, with 32% and 31% of employees respectively reporting that their organisations actively educate staff on AI implications.
Training and tools: Are workplaces preparing employees for AI?
Encouragingly, the report finds that over half of employees have access to AI learning or experimentation resources.
–65% reported access to AI tools for experimentation,
–60% receive hands-on training,
–52% said their company has clear responsible AI policies, and
–44% each have peer mentoring and role-specific AI use case examples.
Showing that many organisations are making AI literacy a structural priority, though implementation depth varies.
The enthusiasm gap: When adoption meets optimism
Employee enthusiasm for AI grows sharply with maturity of adoption. In organisations with minimal or no AI integration, only 18% of employees describe themselves as “very enthusiastic.”
In contrast, in advanced AI workplaces, that figure rises to 71% — a 53 percentage-point jump.
This suggests that exposure and experience with AI often reduce fear and increase optimism, aligning with the “learning reduces anxiety” principle seen in technological transitions.
Leadership matters in how employees take on AI
Support from leadership emerges as a critical factor shaping AI sentiment. In companies with advanced AI integration, 61% of employees feel supported by their leadership in AI-related efforts, compared to only 7–32% in early-stage organisations.
Moreover, employees who express confidence in leadership are:
92% likely to feel excited about AI,
83% aware of its benefits and risks, and
88% hopeful about future opportunities.
As per the report’s findings, employee confidence in leadership plays a defining role in shaping perceptions of AI at work. When leaders communicate openly and invest in employee upskilling, AI shifts from a source of fear to a source of opportunity. But with nearly half of India’s millennials fearing job displacement, the message, as the report notes is about building trust and capability may matter just as much as adopting the technology itself.
Better AI integration equals better workplace culture
The study draws a strong connection between responsible AI adoption and a healthier work culture.
Organisations with positive AI implementation score higher on key cultural indicators such as: access to training, fair pay, management transparency, belonging and inclusion, clarity of expectations, and work-life balance.
While “positive” AI workplaces scored an average of 88% on these culture measures, “negative” ones averaged only 25% — a striking 60-point gap.
The widest differences appeared in management behaviours and employees’ sense of
AI adoption by geography: Maharashtra, Delhi NCR, Karnataka lead
At the state level, Maharashtra recorded the highest share of organisations at the advanced/intermediate AI stage (16.4%), followed by Delhi NCR (14.7%), and then Karnataka, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat. This pattern mirrors India’s tech and services concentration across major metros.