We asked our staff what feelings AI evokes – here’s what we learned

“Everyone must start using AI tools, beginning today.”
“You do already have Claude Code, right?”
“Learn to make AI tools part of your workflow.”

These sentences have surely been heard in every company that works with technology. But what about change management? How do you account for the individuals who no longer recognize their own roles as the same ones they had just a year ago? Or a work community grappling with new ways of working amid constant change?

At Identio, we paused to sit with these questions when our occupational safety and health committee discussed the topic and brought it to the People & Culture Taskforce, which develops company culture and people’s wellbeing. In this piece, I’ll share what we found when we asked our staff about the feelings and thoughts that AI brings with it.

We surveyed our staff already last autumn, mapping the use of AI tools in client projects and internally. That survey focused on the tools, their use cases, and how the company can support people in using AI tools. This spring we ran a second survey, one more closely tied to the very perspectives I just mentioned — the feelings and thoughts AI brings with it. This survey did not assess competence or rate of adoption, since those themes had already been the focus earlier. We wanted to make room for honest reflection, because we believe that’s a prerequisite for healthy change.

Curiosity is the strongest emotion and it says a lot

We received responses from 60% of Identio’s people. A higher response rate would have given an even more reliable overall picture of our situation, but even this result offers enough direction for further discussion and action.

Nearly all respondents (93.8%) described their relationship with AI using the word “curious.” That’s a strong starting point. People want to learn, experiment, and be part of the change.

Alongside curiosity, other emotions appeared too: uncertainty, enthusiasm, and confusion. Most chose more than one option, with the most common emotion combinations being “enthusiastic and curious,” “curious and uncertain,” and “curious, enthusiastic, and confused.”

This result is no surprise. In the end we’re only human, with all our emotions, and when the nature of work changes quickly, parallel and even contradictory feelings are a normal reaction. They occur in every organization, regardless of whether they’re talked about or not. The only question, then, is whether space is created to process them or not. AI can be seen as both inspiring and pressure-inducing at the same time. Both feelings are valid, and at our company they have room to coexist – even though AI has been raised as one of the central growth drivers of our strategy.

What’s on people’s minds, and why that’s a good sign

Respondents’ reflections fell roughly into three themes.

Work and career
Will writing code decrease? Will the work turn into reviewing AI-generated code? Will I get the same sense of accomplishment from problem-solving as before?

Society and ethics
AI’s impact on factors such as data security, misuse, and the environment. Does everyone have equal access to AI tools?

Wellbeing
Will conversations with colleagues – and the back-and-forth of ideas and thoughts – decline as discussion shifts to AI tools? And what happens to cognitive load?

We think these concerns and questions are not signs of resistance to change, but signs that people care about their work, their professional skills, and the world around them. Those are exactly the kind of people we want working with us.

What people haven’t said out loud

We also asked Identio’s people which things they hadn’t said out loud in the public conversation.

With this question, a natural reflection recurred about where each person’s AI skills stood relative to their colleagues. At Identio, every employee uses AI tools according to the client’s guidelines, and some already do their work entirely AI-natively.

We’ve organized plenty of training and knowledge-sharing opportunities precisely so that we stay aware of one another’s skills and ensure a high level of AI competence across our work community. If a consultant isn’t able to use AI tools on their project, we make sure they get extra support to learn those skills.

What’s next?

The survey results won’t be left in a drawer. Our People & Culture team has already planned concrete actions: clearer guidelines for using AI in client work and internally, shared learning practices and peer support, and regular forums where AI-related feelings can be discussed openly. We’ll also make sure that support reaches internal roles in addition to consultants. Leadership actively backs initiatives related to developing AI competence, which ensures that things don’t stay at the level of talk alone.

Part of change management is recognizing that, beyond information, people need space to process change. That’s slower than adopting a new tool, but it’s the only way change becomes sustainable. Different emotions don’t make people resistant to change – or, in this case, contradictory feelings don’t make people anti-AI.

As a work community, we’re committed to our shared strategic guidelines and goals, including in the realm of AI. We want to do it in a healthy and sustainable way.

We believe no one gets through this change alone and no one has to.

Interested in Identio as an employer? Check out our open positions 👉 https://www.identio.fi/careers