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We've all read stories about how AI can identify employees who are at-risk for leaving through sentiment analysis, predictive analytics or surveys. But there’s another attrition indicator, as well: An employee’s enthusiasm for AI itself.
In its 2025 Performance Enablement Report, performance-management company Betterworks found that employees who are most comfortable with AI are also more likely to hunt for a new job. Meanwhile, those disengaged from the technology tend to stay in place. Nearly eight in 10 highly engaged employees — who are often the most open to AI — are actively seeking new opportunities, the report said, while 65% of AI-resistant employees plan to remain where they are.
That means businesses risk losing their most dependable, forward-thinking workers if they don’t have a clear strategy for workplace AI adoption. Without the right tools and AI training programs, a company’s momentum with AI will stall.
To improve their employee retention strategies, businesses need to focus on two things: AI upskilling and clear communications.
The AI Upskilling Imperative
The most enthusiastic AI users aren’t blinded by the technology’s potential. They understand their skills make them “highly marketable,” but that AI could pose a risk to their jobs. On the other hand, those less familiar with AI are also less concerned about being replaced or the need to keep their skills updated.
Research from ADP found that workers who have more positive impressions of AI are more likely to worry about how the technology will impact their jobs. While about 17% believe AI will be a good thing for their work, 27% of those employees fear the technology will replace them. Of workers who had negative views of AI, or no opinion at all, only 7% worried about being replaced.
Of course, employers continue to seek new ways to leverage AI’s capabilities in their business. That, in turn, encourages them to improve their AI upskilling opportunities. On that score, they won’t hear many objections from employees: According to the Betterworks study, some 93% of workers who use AI daily believe they’ve barely begun to understand what the technology can do.
All of this puts employers in a sticky situation: While employees put a high value on AI training programs, that training makes them better-equipped to leave.
Will Training Lead to Attrition or Retention?
It's fair to wonder, then, whether companies are increasing the risk of employee flight by offering the very AI upskilling workers want. That may be the case, but there’s no single solution to the conundrum.
Fortunately, employers have options. One is to strengthen their internal mobility programs. For example, they can help employees identify needed skills as a way to uncover new career opportunities and take on new roles.
Another is to facilitate specific skills training. Most employees believe AI is going to impact their job somehow, and often see it making their positions obsolete. That worry leads many workers to seek ways of updating their skills in their particular area of expertise.
Another approach is to help workers ease their stress. As is often said, stress is a great motivator. “Respondents who were scared about being replaced by technology were twice as likely to experience high stress at work compared to those who were less worried,” said ADP. “And workers who fear for their jobs are more likely to be looking for employment elsewhere.”
Indeed, more than 30% of those most concerned about the safety of their jobs were actively seeking a new position, ADP found. That compares to only 16% who were less nervous.
A Clear Opportunity for Employers
Although AI training programs are an effective way to boost retention, a significant number of employees aren’t presented with learning opportunities. According to Microsoft, only 39% of workers who use AI have received AI training from their company and only a quarter of businesses plan to offer some kind of generative AI training this year.
The opportunity is clear: training in AI will better position the workforce to take advantage of new technology and will encourage users to stay put. Of those companies that did invest in employee learning, more than half (58%) increased their retention rates.
Of course, it’s worth keeping all of this in perspective: Training opportunities have always been popular among employees. Nearly two-thirds of workers (61%) told Gallup upskilling opportunities were an important reason to stick with their current employer, and almost half (48%) would consider switching jobs to access better learning opportunities.
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Highly skilled workers have always been in demand, so prospective employers are going to seek out candidates who master a hot skill — and employees likely know it. It only follows that employees with the highest interest in AI are the most likely to leave. They’ll have more opportunities to pick from and more employers actively seeking their services.
Employers who want to keep their AI enthusiasts onboard should take advantage of their innate interest: Help workers develop their skills in AI so they resist the urge to leave.
Editor's Note: Dig deeper into training and retention topics below:
- The Relationship Between Learning and Development and Retention — Will providing access to training keep employees from quitting as so many experts predict? Or does that question miss the point?
- The GenAI Skills Employees Need to Be Productive — Last week Skillsoft announced a partnership with Microsoft to teach workers how to best use Copilot and Azure OpenAI. What kind of skills do workers need?
- Employee Retention Remains a Problem. People Analytics Can Help — Companies spend a lot of time, money and resources to hire the best and brightest talent they can find. People analytics can help you retain them.
