The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Employee Motivation: Mediating Role of Work Efficiency, Skill Development, Job Autonomy, and Job Insecurity

The purpose of this paper is to examine how artificial intelligence (AI) adoption influences the motivation of employees, focusing on the mediating roles of perceived work efficiency, skill development, job autonomy, and job insecurity with work-related stress. Using data collected from 358 IT employees and analysed through structural equation modelling and mediation analysis, the study finds that AI adoption has a significant direct effect on employee motivation. The findings reveal the dual nature of AI adoption: it enhances employee motivation by improving work efficiency, learning opportunities, and job autonomy, while simultaneously undermining motivation by increasing job insecurity and work-related stress. Perceived work efficiency, skill development, and job autonomy positively mediate this relationship, whereas job insecurity and work-related stress exert a negative mediating effect. This study contributes to the literature by providing an integrated mediation framework that explains how AI affects employee motivation from a socio-technical perspective. Practically, the results suggest that organisations should adopt human-centred AI strategies that amplify positive job characteristics while proactively addressing AI-related insecurity and stress.