AI and employee wellbeing: friend or foe?

Artificial intelligence is no longer on the horizon. It’s now an embedded part of many people’s daily lives and is actively reshaping how people do their work. But as these tools unlock new capabilities, they also raise a critical question: what will this all mean for employee wellbeing?

The relationship between AI and wellbeing isn’t simple. While AI clearly offers tremendous benefits, its rapid integration into the workplace has disrupted familiar routines and transformed the job market. Some jobs have been eliminated entirely, while other jobs have been streamlined to the point where employers can substantially reduce their workforce. With these rapid changes comes a substantial amount of stress and uncertainty for job security. Many employees are currently living in fear that their skillset will soon be obsolete.

But that’s not the full story. In some cases, AI is creating new jobs and opportunities for U.S. workers. AI has also been a valuable tool to help employees lighten their workload and reduce burnout. Additionally, AI advancements in welltech are transforming employee wellbeing programs at lightning speed.  

Let’s take a closer look at both sides of the equation. 

The case for AI as a friend to wellbeing

Personalized wellbeing support at scale

One of the most meaningful ways AI can support employee wellbeing is by making help instant, intuitive, and personalized. When employees have questions about their wellbeing program, personal health, or benefits, they need answers right away. Not in two business days, and certainly not after digging through a knowledge base.  

Navigate’s AI Virtual Assistant is a strong example of how this plays out in practice. Available 24/7, it gives employees instant clarity on everything from managing blood pressure to understanding biometric requirements to tracking rewards progress. No menus to dig through. No guessing. Just ask a question, get a direct answer, and keep moving forward.

This kind of support doesn’t just improve the user experience. It keeps people engaged. Employees are far more likely to follow through on a wellbeing journey when the path is clear and the help is built in. The more effortless the experience, the more consistent the behavior, and that consistency is what drives real outcomes at scale.  

When employees feel supported at every step, they’re more likely to stay engaged, complete activities, and reach personal health goals. And when the experience is that smooth, wellbeing becomes less of a task and more of a habit.

Keep an eye out for Navigate’s employee wellbeing AI Virtual Assistant, set to debut in January of 2026. 

Automating burnout-prone tasks

AI is most effective when it's taking low-value, high-effort work off people’s plates. These are the tasks that drain time and energy but don’t really move the needle in a meaningful way. Think data entry, meeting notes, scheduling, and routine customer queries. By automating these, AI helps employees focus on strategic, creative, or interpersonal work. The kind that aligns with purpose and engagement.

This doesn’t just lighten the load. It also reduces cognitive fatigue which tends to build up when people juggle repetitive tasks with complex responsibilities. With AI handling the background noise, employees can stay focused and energized. 

Driving growth and opening new opportunities

The assumption that AI only eliminates jobs is inaccurate. In reality, many companies are using AI to scale faster, serve better, and create new roles that didn’t exist before. When AI is applied strategically, it becomes a growth engine, not just a cost cutter.

Chipotle, for example, recently announced plans to hire 20,000 new employees ahead of peak season. That scale is made possible in part by its AI hiring assistant, which doubled applicant flow and cut hiring time in half. By reducing friction in the recruiting process, AI helped the company expand its workforce more efficiently.

At JPMorgan, internal tools like AI-powered coding assistants have increased engineering productivity by up to 20 percent. But instead of cutting headcount, the bank is redirecting talent toward more complex, higher-impact projects. AI handles the repetitive tasks, freeing human employees to focus on innovation.

These cases reflect a broader trend. When companies use AI to strengthen operations, reduce burnout, and streamline low-value work, they can grow faster with people, not without them. For employees, that can mean new roles, more interesting work, and a greater sense of purpose. All of which are key drivers of wellbeing in any workplace.

The case for AI as a potential foe 

The fear of replacement

Even when jobs haven’t been cut, the presence of AI can create a sense of looming threat. Employees who once felt confident in their roles may now wonder how long they’ll be needed. The more advanced the tool, the more likely people are to question the security of their role.

This quiet anxiety can affect even high performers. When a system starts automating parts of someone’s job or doing it faster, they may begin to internalize a message: “I’m replaceable.” That fear can quickly erode morale, motivation, and trust. Without transparency from leadership, AI becomes a mystery to be feared instead of a tool to be helpful. This ambiguity breeds unease that can lead to turnover, not because they want to leave, but because they don’t feel safe staying.

At scale, this creates a workplace atmosphere that is more guarded than collaborative, more anxious than innovative. That emotional climate is not just bad for wellbeing, it is bad for business. Leaders can counter this by clearly outlining how AI is intended to support, not replace, human work. Regular communication, paired with opportunities for upskilling and role evolution, can help employees see AI as a partner in their growth rather than a threat to their job security. 

Constant monitoring can breed mistrust

Some organizations deploy AI to track productivity: logging keystrokes, monitoring active hours, analyzing emails, or scoring output. While this data may be intended to optimize performance, it often signals distrust. Employees feel scrutinized rather than supported.

This kind of surveillance can backfire. Instead of increasing efficiency, it creates anxiety and disengagement. People start to game the system or try to “look” productive. Worse, when AI makes decisions based on this data, such as flagging low performers, trust erodes further. A healthier approach is to use AI tools transparently and collaboratively, sharing with employees how data is collected, why it’s used, and how it benefits them. When AI is positioned as a partner in productivity, not a watchdog, it’s more likely to build trust rather than break it. 

Bias baked into the system

AI is only as objective as the data it’s trained on. If historical data reflects systemic biases, whether in hiring, promotion, or performance reviews, those patterns can be perpetuated at scale.

For employees, this means decisions may be made about them based on flawed assumptions. For organizations, it means unintentional discrimination that damages trust, inclusion, and fairness. In environments where psychological safety is critical, biased AI is more than a tech issue. It’s a cultural liability. To mitigate this, organizations must audit AI systems regularly, ensure diverse representation in training data, and include human oversight in critical decisions. When fairness is prioritized from the start, AI becomes a tool for equity rather than a threat to it. 

Final verdict: Friend or foe?    

The true answer to whether or not AI is a friend or foe to employee wellbeing is: it’s neither.  

AI’s impact on wellbeing depends entirely on how it’s designed, governed, and integrated into the workplace. When implemented with intention and oversight, AI can reduce stress, enhance support, and enable more human-centered work. But when driven purely by efficiency or cost, it can become an invisible source of pressure and inequity.

The organizations that benefit most are those that keep humans in the loop. That means not just ethical guidelines and privacy controls, but also governance that includes HR, legal, IT, and frontline employees. Technology can accelerate care, but it can’t replace it. Leaders still have to listen, respond, and lead with empathy.

As AI continues to evolve, so must the strategies that shape it. This is a moment to build digital cultures that are grounded in ethics, transparency, and trust. Because AI won’t decide whether it’s a friend or foe to wellbeing. Leaders will.

Ready to see how AI can transform employee wellbeing at your organization? Book a personalized demo today!