Breeding distrust during artificial intelligence (AI) era: how technological advancements, job insecurity and job stress fuel organizational cynicism?

Purpose This study examines how technological advancements and psychological capital contribute to job stress. Furthermore, the paper examines how job insecurity, job stress and job involvement influence the cynicism of recently laid-off employees. Despite various research studies, there is a lack of understanding of employees’ views on their work future and its probable influence on their job behaviors in this era of technology. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative method was used to collect a sample of 403 recently laid-off employees. The research tool of this study was a questionnaire, and the sampling technique was stratified random sampling. IBM SPSS and AMOS software were utilized to ensure the trustworthiness and accuracy of constructs via factor analysis. The proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Findings The analysis showed that technological advancements, specifically in job-related stress, job involvement and job insecurity, significantly affect organizational cynicism. Job involvement is negatively associated with employee’s cynicism. Practical implications The current study adds to the comprehension of shifts in the perceived behavior of employees toward their organizations due to factors like the adoption of new technology in the organization, job stress, job insecurity and job involvement. Accordingly, there will be a need to form a favorable working atmosphere so that employees can perform their jobs with positive psychology and without any insecurity or stress. Originality/value The study is thought to contribute to the literature in terms of measuring organizational cynicism while layoffs continue due to AI advancements.