AI's impact has created a deep divide. Roughly half of tech workers feel amplified and excited by the technology, while the other half feel their roles have become unclear, devalued, or threatened, leading to anxiety and uncertainty.
Contrary to the dominant narrative, the primary fear among tech workers isn't job loss to AI. The top concern is the rising expectation to produce more for the same pay, leading to an unsustainable pace and increased burnout.
While 97% of tech workers feel AI makes them faster, they report it doesn't improve their work's quality. Many describe a "cognitive rot," where over-reliance on AI diminishes their own judgment, problem-solving abilities, and overall sharpness.
Despite AI's promise of efficiency, significant burnout among tech workers surged from 44.7% to 54.7% in just one year. Concurrently, optimism about career futures fell, suggesting AI is intensifying workloads rather than alleviating them.
When asked if they would recommend their role to others (an NPS-style question), no tech function—from founders to engineers to designers—scored positively. This indicates widespread uncertainty about future career viability across the entire industry.
Manager quality is a massive lever for employee well-being. Data shows a direct correlation where highly effective managers increase their team's job enjoyment by 65% and dramatically lower burnout. However, only 25% of managers are rated as highly effective.
A new form of burnout is emerging, characterized by ambivalence. While curiosity and excitement are the top reported emotions, they are paired with overwhelm and fatigue. This "smiling exhaustion" reflects the thrill of building with AI combined with a relentless, brutal tempo.
There is a direct, linear relationship between company size and negative sentiment. Employees at large enterprises report significantly higher levels of burnout and layoff anxiety compared to peers at startups. There is no "sweet spot" for company size.
Across multiple metrics—feeling destabilized, anxiety, job loss worry, and willingness to recommend their role—designers and researchers consistently rank as the most pessimistic functions in tech. They feel their roles and craft are being fundamentally diminished by AI.
The workforce isn't a monolith. It comprises four distinct groups: the Energized (41%) who feel amplified; the Conflicted (35%) feeling both excitement and uncertainty; the Disoriented (12%) who see no clear path; and the Resentful (12%) who feel forced to use AI.
For individual contributors, the path to feeling energized isn't to use AI for everything. Data suggests that going deep and mastering AI for a few specific, core tasks leads to a greater sense of amplification and less overwhelm than attempting to be a generalist.