Enabling or Hindering? The Dual Mechanisms of AI-Enabled Job Characteristics on Employee Behavior

To address the opportunities and challenges posed by technological transformation, organizations are actively exploring optimal pathways for human-AI collaboration. Against this backdrop, this study builds a dual-pathway model grounded in the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, aiming to uncover how AI-enabled job characteristics influence employees' promotion-focused and prevention-focused job crafting behaviors. Drawing on two-wave data from 352 employees across multiple cities in China, the study demonstrates the mediating role of task-related job insecurity in the enabling pathway and the moderating effect of psychological resilience, as well as the mediating role of position-related job insecurity in the hindering pathway and the moderating effect of occupational future time perspective. Rooted in a human-centered perspective, this study extends the research on human-AI collaboration and offers valuable insights for organizations seeking to maximize the benefits of human-AI collaboration while minimizing its adverse impacts on employees.