Humanizing or mechanizing the self? How mindset moderates AI usage on employee self-perception and job crafting

To found out how employees interpret their roles and adjust their work in artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled contexts, this research examines the relationships between AI usage, employee self-perceptions, and job crafting, as well as the moderating role of implicit mindsets. To test the hypotheses, we conducted a two-wave survey. Participants were recruited from an online platform. The final sample involved 252 full-time employees with experience of AI usage. Results suggest that the impact of AI usage on employees' self-perceptions and job crafting depends on their mindset. AI usage is more likely to enhance employees' self-perception of humanity and promote in job crafting among those with a growth mindset. In contrast, AI usage is more likely to enhance their self-perception of instrumentality and reduce job crafting among those with a fixed mindset. This research highlights the importance of implicit mindsets in shaping employees' self-perceptions and behavioral responses to AI usage. By adopting an implicit perspective and drawing on identity theory, it provides a more nuanced comprehension of how AI usage influences employees, offering both theoretical and practical implications. • AI use shapes employees' self-perception as object vs. subject • Growth mindsets helps retain and enhance employees' sense of humanity when using AI • AI usage can both constrain and enable proactive job crafting