Does AI at Work Increase Stress? Text Mining Social Media About Human–AI Team Processes and AI Control

Abstract

With rising use of artificial intelligence (AI) in organizations, alongside increasing mental health issues, we seek to understand how AI use affects human stress. Drawing on the automation–augmentation perspective, we propose that AI control over decision-making thwarts human autonomy and thus contributes to stress. Drawing on models of teamwork and augmentation, we expect that human–AI team processes (i.e., transition, action, and interpersonal processes) help people meet their goals and reduce stress. Finally, we argue that human–AI team processes provide an important social resource, which buffers the stress-enhancing role of AI control. To test our hypotheses, we analyzed over 2700 tweets. Using a trained large language model, validated against human ratings, we indexed key measures. Results confirm that high AI control was associated with increased stress, whereas human–AI team processes were associated with decreased stress. In support of the moderation hypothesis, two human–AI team processes (action and interpersonal) helped further reduce the stress-enhancing effect of AI control. We discuss implications for work design theory and the importance of regulating levels of AI control to protect workers' mental health.