AI-related occupational threat perceptions and employee outcomes: a systematic review with exploratory quantitative synthesis

Despite growing attention to artificial intelligence (AI) in organizational research, evidence on AI-related job insecurity and related technology-specific occupational threat perceptions remains fragmented. This systematic review synthesized associations with well-being impairment, maladaptive behavioral responses, and adaptive behavioral responses across 16 eligible studies, of which 11 contributed quantitative evidence. A tiered evidence strategy distinguished directly reported bivariate correlations used for primary synthesis from PLS-derived construct correlations and other model-dependent evidence retained for extended exploratory analyses. Five independent primary estimates showed a positive average association with well-being impairment, r = 0.317, 95% CI [0.084, 0.518], I2 = 97.35%. Six independent bivariate correlations showed a positive average association with maladaptive behavioral responses, r = 0.215, 95% CI [0.101, 0.324], I2 = 82.43%. Only two independent primary estimates were available for adaptive responses, precluding a primary pooled estimate; an extended exploratory synthesis remained small and statistically uncertain, r = 0.044, 95% CI [−0.020, 0.107]. AI-related occupational threat perceptions were more consistently associated with well-being impairment and maladaptive responses than with adaptation in the available literature. Substantial heterogeneity indicates considerable variation across settings and limit interpretation of these average associations as uniform effects.