There Goes the Fun

There’s the sales guy who loves searching for new leads. And the archivist who enjoys flipping through academic journals. And the scientist who contentedly spends weeks dreaming up study designs.

That was in the Before Times. This year, some workers are finding their roles to be increasingly hollowed out, as artificial intelligence absorbs not just their most tedious responsibilities but also the ones they love. A trend is emerging: An MIT study of over a thousand scientists in R&D at a major US firm found that though AI-assisted research fueled huge gains, scientists reported less engagement with their work. The numbers are daunting: 82% of scientists reported less satisfaction, despite a 39% increase in patent filings and a 44% boost in discovery of materials. “Yes, AI may be able to shortcut some of those processes, but at what cost?” says Kendra Marion, vice president of global assessment services at Korn Ferry.

To be sure, technological breakthroughs like gen AI have improved many workers’ lives by shouldering hours of repetitive tasks, particularly in roles that involve a lot of them, such as sales. But the MIT study suggests that one man’s drudgery is another man’s fun, and experts worry that job enjoyment will diminish. This, of course, is in contrast to the original prediction that AI would become a “partner” for many workers by taking over only their most tedious responsibilities. “Disengagement is a real risk. People are just going to lose interest in their jobs,” says Purbita Banerjee, senior vice president of product management of Korn Ferry digital and RPO.

The underlying issue has less to do with employees and more to do with their roles: The very nature of many jobs is changing. Over time, experts say, job candidates will naturally self-select for the roles that they enjoy. But in the interim, teams are shifting attention and hours away from the nuts and bolts, like presentations and assessments, and onto actual doing. To find fun in their work, they may turn to duties on the side that they enjoy, even if these aren’t essential.

Experts say that it’s critical for managers to identify which parts of jobs employees love—a task that can be trickier with high performers, says Marion. “What motivates them—creativity, brainstorming, solving difficult challenges—is all part of the ‘fun’,” she says. That enjoyment pays off, in the form of invested employees who work harder and stay. She advises firms to allow employees to find their own ways of incorporating AI into their work, so that they can preserve the parts they enjoy. “This allows for the best of both worlds,” says Marion.

And for every beloved task, there is a hated one. Banerjee suggests reframing the situation with employees: Rather than seeing new technologies as stealing favored tasks, employees can embrace them for handling to-dos that they “might not be loving,” she says. “Leverage it on those tasks that require self-discipline.”

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