India Among Most Optimistic on AI’s impact at Work: ADP Research

12 August, 2025

Companies need to empower their employees to adapt and thrive in this fast-evolving workforce.

Chennai, India, August 12, 2025: ADP Research, in a global study, surveyed 38,000 working adults across six continents to gain a comprehensive understanding of their feelings toward AI and its potential impact on their jobs. The 'People at Work 2025' report series, which provides insights on the labour market from the perspective of employees, explored respondents' views on AI, their familiarity and openness to it, and their concerns about job displacement related to the technology.

The research uncovers a complex and often conflicting range of emotions among the global workforce about AI's effect on jobs. While many see the positive possibilities of AI, a large number also have concerns about job displacement and feel uncertain about AI's future influence on their roles.

It also seems that the arrival of AI can create challenges for people retention: 30% of those who believe they could be replaced are actively seeking new jobs, compared to 16% of others.

India ranks as the world’s second-largest source of optimism, with 34% of employees strongly agreeing that AI will positively influence their job responsibilities next year, while only 17% believe that AI will replace their jobs. Egypt leads the global optimism chart at 36%.

"AI is reshaping not only the way we work, but also how employees feel about the future of their jobs," said Rahul Goyal, MD, ADP India and Southeast Asia. “In India, we see a remarkable sense of optimism, especially among knowledge employees and mid-career professionals, who view AI as a tool to elevate their roles in the year ahead. Yet, even as optimism grows, concerns around job replacement persist, particularly among the younger professionals. To harness AI’s full potential, employers must recognise this duality—pairing upskilling with open, transparent dialogue to build trust and readiness across their workforce.”

Key Findings from the People at Work 2025: Artificial Intelligence

Mixed feelings dominate: While 17% of employees strongly agree that AI will positively influence their job in the next year, and 33% agree, overall feelings are mixed. Only 1 in 10 employees strongly agree to feeling scared that AI will replace their job.

Hope and Concerns in Tandem: Interestingly, 27% of employees who believe AI will positively impact their jobs also fear that technology might replace them. For example, markets with the most optimistic outlook on AI, such as Egypt or India, also have the highest share of employees fearing replacement. This indicates that AI evokes both excitement about its potential and concerns of its ultimate effects.

The unknown reinforces anxiety: A significant portion of people (44% combined agree/strongly agree) have no idea how AI will change their jobs. This uncertainty can contribute to anxiety, with some markets showing a large share of employees who fear replacement also having a large share who are unsure about AI's impact.

Differences by Industry and Work Type

Early adopters are more optimistic: People working in technology services, finance, insurance, and information sectors are more likely to have a positive outlook on AI's impact, but also express higher concerns about being replaced. Across the APAC region, an average of 22% of employees in these sectors believe that AI will have a positive impact on their job responsibilities over the next year. The sectors prize efficiency and competitive advantage, which AI can enhance.

Knowledge employees lead in optimism and concern: Knowledge employees, such as programmers, academics, engineers, are the most likely to believe AI will positively impact their jobs (24% strongly agree) but are also the most worried about being replaced (13% strongly agree) and most likely to say they don't know what the future will bring (14% strongly agree).

In India, 39% of knowledge employees strongly agree that AI will positively impact their job responsibilities in the next year, the second highest globally. Similarly, India ranks second globally for skilled task employees who strongly agree that AI will positively impact their job responsibilities next year (28%).

Human-centric sectors show caution: Industries heavily reliant on human interactions, such as healthcare and social assistance, express greater concerns about AI's impact.

Age: Younger employees (18-26 and 27-39) are more likely to show both optimism and concern about AI, considering its long-term effects on their careers. Late-career employees (55+) tend to show more indifference, believing AI will have little impact on their remaining working years.

However, mid-career professionals in India are most optimistic, with 37% of employees aged 40-54 strongly agreeing that AI will positively influence their job roles in the coming year — the highest globally. Pessimism mainly exists among employees aged 27-39, with 19% fearing their jobs might be replaced by AI. This decreases to 15% in the 40-54 age group.

Region: The Middle East/Africa region shows the highest percentage of employees strongly believing AI will positively influence their job (27%) while Japan and Sweden show the lowest (4% and 6% respectively). People in Europe (11%) are the least likely to think that AI will positively impact their job in the next year, compared to 13% in North America, 16% in APAC, 19% in LatAm and 27% in Middle East/Africa.

Stress and job seeking: Employees who fear being replaced by technology are twice as likely to report experiencing high stress at work. Additionally, over 30% of people who strongly believe AI could replace them are actively seeking new employment, compared to 16% of those less concerned.

The full People at Work report is available for free download here

For more insights and analysis on the world of work visit www.ADPresearch.com

"People at Work 2025" Report Series Methodology

The 'People at Work 2025' report series is built on the ADP Research Global Workforce Survey, a robust study conducted regularly since 2015. The survey, designed by ADP Research's team of analysts, gathers information about the labor market from the perspective of employees themselves, providing insights that can improve the world of work by better understanding worker sentiment and expectations.

Based on survey data from nearly 38,000 working adults in 34 markets across six continents, "People at Work 2025" features a representative sample of the global workforce to provide regional and market-to-market comparisons of worker sentiment in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and North America.

Respondents come from a wide variety of industries, educational backgrounds, on-site and remote work environments and skill sets. They represent a range of management and individual contributor roles, working for employers of all sizes.

A unique attribute of the "People at Work 2025" report series is its measurement of worker sentiment in granular detail across worker types using a proprietary methodology developed by ADP Research. In addition to demographic and employer characteristics, survey respondents are classified by the type of work they do – knowledge, skilled task, or cyclical – regardless of industry.

"People at Work's" ability to gather sentiment along these different worker and geographical dimensions provides employers with a fine-tuned and granular view of the global workforce that they can leverage to better understand their workforces and drive growth through data-driven talent decisions.

Each report will pair global trends with market-by-market insights on workplace topics ranging from artificial intelligence and employees holding multiple jobs to get by, to wage trends and career development.

About ADP (NASDAQ: ADP)

ADP has been shaping the world of work with innovation and expertise for more than 75 years. As a global leader in HR and payroll solutions, ADP continuously aims to solve complex business challenges for our clients and their employees. Always Designing for People means ADP focuses on people, leveraging our unparalleled data insights and innovative technology to elevate human potential. More than 1.1 million clients across 140+ countries trust ADP’s unique expertise and exceptional service to support their people and drive their businesses forward. Learn more at ADP.com

ADP, the ADP logo, and Always Designing for People, and ADP Research are trademarks of ADP, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

ADP Media Contact:

Kanjika Ram
kanjika.ram@archetype.co
+91 9987153401

Navya Babbar
navya.babbar@archetype.co
+91 83739 48780