3 Tips For Beating AI Job Anxiety
Position elimination - the threat of an individual losing their job to AI - is instilling career uncertainty in millions of people across the world. So, what are three ways you can reduce your anxiety whilst optimising your skills?
A frightening projection
800 million people. That’s a helluva lot of people. In fact, that’s 10% of the global population kind of people. It’s huge, and it’s the amount of people who are expected to lose their jobs to AI by 2030. Terrifying, isn’t it? And the threat isn’t limited to one country, industry or workforce - it's a global concern that has become a massive worry in the past two years.
Everywhere you go people are asking: “will AI take my job?” Accountants, factory workers, musicians, nurses, teachers, writers - these are just some of the people envisioning a dark wave of position-taking technology rolling ominously over the horizon.
With position elimination a real threat it is perfectly natural for people to feel a sense of panic about the old employment question of where do you see yourself in five years? Anxiety, burnout, depression, fatigue, headaches, irritability, muscle pain and sleep deprivation are just some of the conditions and symptoms that people are already linking to the AI influx.
But, despite the grim intro, we’re not writing this to be doom-and-gloomers. Instead, we understand that humans across all industries still have so much to give in the face of the AI era. What’s more, we’re pragmatists who believe that we humans can optimise our lives in the face of such a threat!
We don’t have to wallow in the depths of position elimination panic. In fact, there are numerous things we can do to both alleviate AI-xiety whilst making us more valuable to the workforce:
Focus on your human qualities
Because in the meantime there is one thing AI can’t do: truly mimic what makes us human. It’s a human’s ability to connect with other humans that sets us apart from any robots currently found at your city’s annual techspotion. Our collaboration, communication, creativity, emotional intelligence, empathy and problem solving skills are all essential to creating an awesome working experience.
Take social media experts for example. Sure, anyone could ask an AI chatbot to give them creative social media ideas, but how are they going to implement them? It’s the social media professional’s job to convey their message in a way that is creative, fun and, most of all, speaks to the audience on a human level.
AI, conversely, is a charmless piece of technology, the kind that would be received rather awkwardly at an otherwise-exciting dinner table. With its inability to communicate ideas in a fun and engaging way it encourages creatives and people across other industries to focus on what makes them great - connecting with people.
Optimise your current skill set
With this in mind, AI can actually be a great reason to reconcile why we got into our roles in the first place. Is accounting your expertise? Do you love helping your patients feel better about the day ahead? Does creating exciting digital copy elevate your sense of satisfaction?
And, whilst it’s understandable that AI-xiety may be impacting your ability to focus at work, it can also be a fantastic reason to reinvigorate your love for the job. This might sound difficult, but the idea is to be positive and not to allow any anxiety to impede on your ability to do the job well.
AI should encourage us to optimise our current skill set to outdo any potential competition from the personality black holes that are AI robots. We have the skills, creativity and empathy to create outstanding work across all related fields. And, once we begin to focus on what is in front of us, we can really take the time to do it to perfection.
So, stop worrying whether or not AI will take your job in the future - focus on optimising your skills and doing the job in front of you really well. This way you will show your employer that you’re not only worthy for your current job but also a tasty little promotion, too!
Focus on mindfulness
Oh, here we go, mindfulness, it was always coming to mindfulness. Well, sure, especially as practicing mindfulness is a proven way to reduce stress. What’s more, practicing meditation is found to improve creativity, something that is essential to optimising our skills and cutting through any barriers that this threat might place.
But, perhaps the ultimate benefit of mindfulness is that it helps us focus on what’s in front of us in the here and now. Because, after all, we still don’t really know what AI’s implications will be on the global workforce, so there is no use in spending our days worrying about a jobless future if we already have a great position that we can optimise.
And, if you’ve noticed that AI has already impacted your position, then focusing on the here and now can help us be more proactive about our future. We can focus on what we have to do to supersede the threat: networking, retraining, side hustles, upskilling - whatever you need to do to alleviate your worries whilst prioritising your own self-care.
Don’t despair - you have far too much to offer
The word is out and unless you’re a tech billionaire that word is typically grim. There is a global sense of worry about the workplace’s future and the implications this will have on our world as a whole. And, whilst you may have found yourself worrying about AI influx, it’s important to remember that you have so much to offer.
Sure, it’s easy to get bogged down and think that you can’t compete with a robot, but that’s a ridiculous mindset. Have you seen those robots at those techspos? Do you really think they can create an exciting advertising campaign that entices people to buy your client’s wine?
We don’t think so.
Back yourself and focus on what makes you imperative to your role - you’ll find yourself stressing less about AI and its implications on your position.
