A new survey from Resume Now’s RoboBossing Report suggests U.S. workers are increasingly open to AI in the corner office—just not for everything.
Of the 968 employees surveyed, 66% said AI leadership could make the workplace more fair and efficient, while 73% support AI having a say in big-ticket decisions like hiring, layoffs, and budgeting. Workers see AI as a way to reduce bias, inconsistency, and favoritism in areas that thrive on data and structure.
But the same workers drew hard boundaries around what they consider to be human-only leadership traits: emotional intelligence, empathy, and motivating teams.
“Employees aren’t rejecting AI. They are asking for balance,” said Keith Spencer, career expert at Resume Now. “They trust AI to bring efficiency and fairness to the systems side of leadership. But leadership is also about inspiration, listening, and trust.”
Where Workers Trust AI Most: Fairness, Consistency, and Promotions
Survey respondents were bullish about AI where logic and objectivity matter:
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73% want AI involved in major corporate decisions like hiring and budgeting
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55% think AI could make better promotion calls than humans
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54% trust AI to give unbiased performance feedback
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44% trust AI to manage projects efficiently
The takeaway? Workers think algorithms may be less biased than bosses when it comes to evaluating merit and allocating resources.
Where Workers Still Want Humans: Empathy and Motivation
The limits of AI leadership become obvious when people skills come into play:
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64% say motivating teams is something only humans can do well
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57% believe only humans can truly empathize
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53% trust only humans with morally complex decisions
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Just 19% trust AI to resolve team conflicts
Concerns include AI’s lack of empathy (37%) and fears that AI-led workplaces will feel more impersonal (29%).
Would You Work for a RoboBoss?
While most workers still prefer human managers, some are warming up to the idea of AI in charge:
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34% would prefer to report to an AI boss
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62% still want a human boss
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28% believe AI might outperform humans in certain management areas
That’s cautious optimism rather than wholesale acceptance—AI as an assistant to leadership, not a replacement.
Trust and Surveillance: The Transparency Factor
Perhaps the most surprising finding: workers are already under AI oversight. 94% of respondents said their current job involves some form of AI monitoring.
How workers feel about it depends on transparency:
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69% are fine with AI monitoring if it’s productivity-focused
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85% say more transparency about AI would increase their trust in employers
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39% worry about surveillance or data misuse
The Bottom Line
AI is clearly gaining traction in the workplace, but workers want a hybrid leadership model: AI for fairness and data-driven decisions, humans for inspiration and emotional connection.
For employers, the RoboBossing Report suggests a roadmap: adopt AI in performance management, hiring, and promotion workflows—but keep people at the center when it comes to empathy, motivation, and trust-building.
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