AI sentiment turns negative at work, says Glassdoor study

Older employees are more optimistic about AI in the workplace than their younger colleagues, according to new research from recruitment platform Glassdoor. Nearly half of reviews from Gen X workers viewed AI positively, compared with just 33% of Gen Z comments.

A study by Glassdoor used employee reviews to investigate the attitude of different generations and demographics towards AI in the workplace. This is amid a rapid change in how the topic of AI is being discussed in the workplace due to the emergence of job threats, surveillance issues, and unrealistic expectations from the technology.

There was a 240% increase in the number of Glassdoor reviews discussing AI in May 2026 compared to May 2025, providing a more significant sample size for analysis of the opinions of employees regarding AI.

Compared to 81% of positive AI review mentions in 2019, just 43% of mentions were positive in 2026, with 53% negative mentions and 4% neutral.

Employees aged 40 years and above were more favourable towards AI, especially in senior-level positions. Their reviews were characterised by the fact that the technology opened up new avenues rather than being a threat to their positions.

Younger employees, on the other hand, had a negative stance. Just 33% of Gen Z and 40% of Millennial reviews were positive when it came to AI, with the key issue being limited entry-level job opportunities.

Why are younger workers worried about AI?

Job replacement was the most common concern, appearing in 20% of relevant comments. Other worries included excessive use of AI tools at 14%, AI taking attention away from core business activities at 13%, increased workplace surveillance at 10% and unrealistic expectations about AI's benefits at 8%.

The concerns also differed by gender. Women across age groups were more critical of workplace AI than men, according to Glassdoor's analysis.