AI Paradox: 38% of Young Employees Fear for Their Jobs, Despite Being the Most AI-Savvy

Key Findings:

• 32% of all respondents report concerns about AI's impact on their current jobs.
• Among the youngest workers, this rises to 38%.
• 37% of Gen Z respondents admit to using AI tools during their work.
• 39% say they know what AI prompt engineering is — compared to 27% of all respondents.

Young People Are Wary of AI
The latest Pracuj.pl data highlights the ambivalent attitude of young professionals toward artificial intelligence. On the one hand, they eagerly use AI and are highly aware of its potential. On the other, they fear how it may affect their professional future. This paradox was clearly visible during the Pracuj.pl Festival, where members of Gen Z demonstrated strong proficiency in AI, treating it as a natural part of their daily tasks. Yet, at the same time, they emphasized how important human interaction remains — in recruitment and in building workplace relationships.

This shows that while technology is a valuable support, young people still want critical career decisions to be grounded in interpersonal interactions — comments Karolina Sapińska, Project Lead of the Pracuj.pl Festival.

Despite their expertise, Gen Z employees report the highest levels of concern. While 37% of Gen Z workers have used AI in their jobs, this drops to 32% in the 25–34 age group, 22% among 45–54-year-olds, and only 15% in the 55–65 bracket.

Gen Z also leads in AI knowledge — 39% say they understand prompt engineering, compared to just 27% of the overall population. Moreover, 29% report being skilled at prompting and training AI tools to best support their daily work. In contrast, this figure is 22% among 25–34-year-olds, 21% among 35–44, 17% in the 45–54 age group, and only 13% in the oldest active workforce group.

Expertise Brings Caution
Often, those most familiar with a technology are the ones who worry about it the most. Understanding AI and using it in everyday work does not always translate to a sense of security — in fact, it can make users more sensitive to its potential risks, such as automation of tasks or shifting skill demands.

This is a natural response: the more we know, the more we recognize the consequences. However, we should also consider another perspective — AI's development offers opportunities to ease daily tasks and free people from repetitive work.

This allows professionals to focus on creativity, strategy, and human relationships — aspects that still rely on human intuition and experience. Therefore, it's essential not only to understand AI tools but also to shape our careers consciously within a changing landscape — explains Paweł Moszyński, Chief Product Officer at Grupa Pracuj.

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Helpful, but is it Ethical?
The study reveals even more interesting insights. Gen Z recognizes the potential of AI in recruitment better than any other group. Over 52% of Gen Z agree that tools like ChatGPT can help them prepare a professional CV, compared to 45% of all respondents. They also more often believe that AI can speed up the process of tailoring a CV to specific job offers — 50% versus 44% in the overall group.

But would they actually use AI to enhance their job applications? Not necessarily.

Gen Z is the most ethically cautious group in this regard. 47% of people aged 18–24 express ethical concerns about candidates using AI in the recruitment process. This is more than in the 25–44 age group, where 40% share similar doubts. Interestingly, only 30% of Gen Z say they would use AI to create a new CV — a lower figure than in the 25–34 (37%) and 35–44 (33%) age groups.

Tech-Savvy but Ethically Aware
Young professionals see the value of AI in recruitment but are not always willing to use it to create their own application materials. This shows that technological awareness doesn’t automatically translate into acceptance of its applications, especially when authenticity and trust are involved.

Gen Z understands that AI can improve the recruitment process but also has high expectations for transparency and ethical use. At Pracuj.pl, we also see the potential of generative AI for creating documents, but believe that users must stay in control of the process.

That's why our new mobile app uses AI to support users in finding the right job opportunities, while ensuring that candidates maintain full control over the recruitment journey.

Building trust in AI requires transparent, user-friendly solutions that enhance rather than replace human decisions.

The data shows that Gen Z approaches AI with a mix of fascination and caution. While they recognize its benefits in work and recruitment, they also fear its long-term impact on employment and career prospects. Paradoxically, the more they know about AI, the more questions they have about its ethical use.This is an important message for employers and tech creators: innovation alone is not enough. The key will be to build transparent, trustworthy tools that not only streamline processes but also empower users and give them a true sense of control over their careers.