Impact of AI Awareness on Counterproductive Work Behaviors of IT Industry Workers in Colombo District: The Mediating Effect of Job Insecurity

Abstract

The integration of Artificial Intelligence within the work processes of an organization has been rapidly adopted by many businesses and has brought a substantial work transformation to the work of the Information Technology sector. Although AI systems enhance efficiency and improve organizational competitiveness, they also increase employee concerns regarding job security, which may in turn trigger negative work behaviors. This paper proposes to investigate the effect of Artificial Intelligence awareness on counterproductive work behaviors amidst the Colombo district of Sri Lanka’s managerial-level IT employees, considering job insecurity as a mediator. Utilizing a quantitative method of study, data was obtained from 274 members of the managerial level of the IT sector by employing a self-administered formal scale of work. Standard instrumentation was applied to estimate data through a reliability test, correlation, regression, and investigations of mediation and modulation through an SPSS process. Results suggest that a positive significant link was revealed between AI awareness and counterproductive work behaviors. AI awareness also positively interacted with job insecurity. Mediated analysis abstracted that job insecurity completely mediates Artificial Intelligence and counterproductive work behaviors. Overall, the study underscores the psychological processes linking AI awareness to negative workplace behaviors.