In 2020, the mention of AI would evoke images of J.A.R.V.I.S. from Iron Man, The Terminator, or, if you're old enough, Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Today, AI is no longer science fiction. It has become a part of our daily reality, with rapid progress in multiple areas. This has ledto discussions about AI replacing human jobs across many industries. And you might be worried that your job is in jeopardy. What can you do to manage your worry?
The Psychology of Worry
Preparing for future challenges is a useful skill. That ability helped our ancestors store food to survive winter, in a world that didn't have supermarkets and Uber Eats. And the ability to predict when your bank account will hit zero helps you to consider a supermarket trip, instead of ordering delivery for the 30th time this week.
However, focusing too much on negative predictions about the future can lead to feelings of stress and anxiety. In the case of AI, worrying about what will happen next will compound your anxiety with each press release from OpenAI. So what can you do instead?
Practical Tips for Managing Worry
The first thing to be aware of is that mentally preparing for the loss of your job can make that anxiety worse. You might want to believe that visualising the job apocalypse is like Sarah Conner in the movie The Terminator doing push-ups and getting ripped. But Sarah Conner actually did those push-ups, she didn't just imagine them. Pay attention to when you slip into mental push-up mode and try one of the following instead:
Consider more than just the worst case.
Make reasonable preparations for likely scenarios.
Best, Worst, and Most Likely
One of the traps of anxiety is that it typically leads you to focus on the worst case scenario. You imagine the computer at work becoming sentient and doing the work without you. Your anxiety spikes when you think about it. It probably spiked when you read that sentence (sorry!). That's the worst case scenario.
To get that anxiety back under control, consider the best case scenario instead: AI never gets smart enough to reliably do your job. You probably feel a brief respite. But to make it last, consider the most likely scenario.
So what's a likely scenario? If you look at the past, you can find examples of game-changing technologies that affected entire industries. Computers with word processors (think Microsoft Word or Google Docs) eliminated the jobs of professional typists decades ago. But many of those same typists got computer training and found new jobs. AI might lead to widespread changes to various industries, and you might also have an opportunity to retrain and keep your job.
Real World Preparation
If there are opportunities to keep your job, it will take work on your part to seize them. But instead of merely imagining what opportunities might exist, do some actual research to identify concrete steps. For example, can you use AI to become even better at your job? Can you lead projects to responsibly and ethically use AI in your company? If you are leading the AI charge, you are less likely to find yourself out of a job if your company reduces the workforce. Your efforts to upskill are far more productive than hours spent worrying and researching backyard bunkers for the AI apocalypse.
Tolerating Uncertainty
While it is important to make preparations for the future, it is also important to accept that you don't have a crystal ball. You might be tempted to go down a research rabbit hole, preparing for multiple outcomes. This is your anxiety trying to keep itself fed after you cut off its daily supply of worrying. Anxiety demands certainty even more than Toronto restaurants demand 18% tips. The antidote is just to accept it (the anxiety, not the 18% tip). Tolerating the discomfort that comes with not knowing the future will help to reduce the desire for certainty, and will starve your anxiety.
Conclusion
The kind of future that AI will create in the workplace is anyone's guess. But don't waste time guessing. There are people that get paid to do that, so why do it for free? Instead, consider realistic outcomes and do as much as you can to prepare. Then tell your anxiety that you have done all you can and that it should give you a break, or you will leave it outside the bunker if there ever is an AI apocalypse. And if that doesn't work, book a free consultation session to get some professional help.
References
Pine, D. S., Wise, S. P., & Murray, E. A. (2021). Evolution, emotion, and episodic engagement. American Journal of Psychiatry, 178(8), 701-714.
New Zealand Railways. (1959). Head Office typists room, New Zealand Railways, 1959 [Photograph]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Head_Office_typists_room,_New_Zealand_Railways,_1959_(25557790294).jpg
Beck, J. S., & Hindman, R. (n.d.). Why anxiety persists. Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Retrieved October 22, 2025, from https://beckinstitute.org/blog/why-anxiety-persists/
