The surge in the number of job vacancies requiring ‘AI agent’ skills – by an impressive 1587% – is not just another recruitment statistic, but signals a fundamental shift in the structure of global employment. Randstad’s latest ‘Workmonitor’ report, based on analysis of more than 3 million listings and research in 35 countries, sheds light on the growing tension between technological acceleration and workforce sentiment. While companies are aggressively automating simple, transactional tasks, a clear generational and perceptual divide is being drawn in the labour market.
Generation Z is proving to be the most vulnerable to pressure. Young workers, entering a market increasingly dominated by chatbots and algorithms, show the highest levels of anxiety about their professional future. Paradoxically, it is the baby boom generation (baby boomers) who show more confidence in surveys and are calmer about adapting new tools. Sander van Noordende, CEO of Randstad, aptly diagnoses this phenomenon, pointing to a dualism of attitudes: employees see the potential of technology, but remain sceptical about employers’ intentions. The fear that AI will mainly be used to cut costs and screw up productivity, rather than really support employees, is widespread – almost half of those surveyed believe that the only beneficiaries of this revolution will be corporations.
The report also reveals a drastic gap in the assessment of economic realities, which can be challenging for business leaders. As many as 95% of employers anticipate growth in the coming year, while this optimism is shared by only 51% of employees. This disparity is particularly worrying in the context of global macroeconomic uncertainty, driven by trade wars and aggressive US foreign policy. For executives, the conclusion of Randstad’s data is clear: the success of AI investments, for which many tech companies are still waiting for a return, will depend not only on algorithms, but above all on the ability to bridge the trust gap between boards and employees.
