Do you have FOBO? Why Gen Zers are more afraid of AI, new technologies

The fear of becoming obsolete, known as FOBO , is on the rise among US workers. According to a Gallup poll, this concern has grown more in the past two years than at any time since 2017. Currently, 22% of workers worry that technology will render their jobs obsolete , which is a seven-percentage-point increase from the 2021 reading. Previously, this figure had fluctuated between 13% and 17%, showing little upward movement. The recent increase in concerns about job obsolescence is primarily driven by college-educated workers , where the percentage worried has surged from 8% to 20%, the Gallup survey finds. In contrast, worry among workers without a college degree has remained virtually unchanged at 24%. As a result, there is now a convergence in concern levels between these two groups, whereas non-college-educated workers were previously much more concerned about technological replacement than their college-educated counterparts. What is more interesting is that this tech FOBO is more prevalent in Gen Zers . As per the Gallup report, the fear of job obsolescence is also more pronounced among younger workers compared to older ones, further widening the generational gap seen in 2021. Additionally, it has increased more among those earning less than $100,000 annually than among those earning $100,000 or more. Commenting on the FOBO among Gen Zers, McKinsey Mind the Gap writes: "It makes sense that Gen Zers might be afr ai d of new technology putting them out of work. Generative AI (gen AI) is the hot topic in all the business press this year, and companies have announced a mad dash to integrate the tech into their operations. Although there’s still a ways to go before its kinks are ironed out, it’s likely that gen AI will live up to its potential by the time Gen Zers are established in their careers. By that time, millennials will be in more senior positions and Gen Xers and boomers will likely be retired or nearing retirement. Those jobs in the middle, and theoretically belonging to Gen Z, may be vulnerable to automation alongside some entry-level work." Interestingly, concerns about job obsolescence have risen equally among both men and women, with both groups expressing similar levels of fear in both years. As per the survey, despite the growing apprehension about technology, the most common job-related concern among workers remains the reduction of benefits, with 31% expressing worry about this. The next most common worry is having wages reduced, cited by 24% of workers. Other concerns include being laid off (20%), having hours cut back (19%), and the least worrisome risk is having one's job moved overseas (7%). Of these concerns, only the fear of technology threatening one's job has seen a statistically significant increase since 2021. Worry about the other five job-related fears remains below their high points observed after the Great Recession, from mid-2009 to mid-2013. While worker concerns about various disruptions are not high, they are not at their lowest points either, except for the fear of their company moving jobs overseas, which is at its lowest point in Gallup's trend at 7%. Concerns about being laid off or experiencing reduced wages or hours were significantly lower in the mid-2000s, while the low point for concern about reduced benefits was in 2019.