Canadian workers concerned about AI being used to decide layoffs: survey

It seems a lot of workers across Canada are concerned about the prevalence of artificial intelligence in the workplace — and the idea of AI handling layoffs.

This comes from a recent study conducted by Capterra, a Canadian software assistance company that surveyed just over 1,000 employees at Canadian SMEs (small and medium enterprises) regarding their concerns about the use of AI in HR.

According to the report, one in five Canadian SMEs that responded to the survey use AI in their HR departments.

Although employees were aware of some kind of AI software being used in their workplace, 66% of respondents said that they were unaware of how their company was using the technology.

According to the report, the most common types use for AI tools by HR teams included HR software, employee engagement software, and HR analytics software.

Capterra

Over two-thirds of respondents expressed discomfort with the possibility of AI tools taking over certain HR functions, such as layoffs or firings.

According to Capterra, 30% said they felt “very uncomfortable” and 39% said they felt “somewhat” uncomfortable about the possibility of this happening.

“Of those uncomfortable with this use of AI in the workplace, the majority found it unethical to make that kind of decision (letting go of an employee) via AI,” stated Capterra.

Additional respondents said that firing and layoff decisions were better handled by humans because they “lacked trust in AI’s ability to judge employees’ performance accurately.”

Capterra

However, some respondents (31%) said they would feel comfortable with their HR department using AI to determine layoffs, with 39% of those respondents saying they felt AI would be unbiased in its decision-making process.

For this survey, Capterra said it collected responses from a sample of 1,002 people between May to June 2023.

The respondents were between 18 to 65 years old, worked at a small to midsize enterprise with anywhere from two to 250 employees, had been employed either part- or full-time, and had been working at the same company for at least a year.