Artificial intelligence is breaking traditional job roles into component tasks, and companies that fail to help workers adapt will struggle to see returns on their technology investments. That was the message from ADP executives speaking at the 2026 Summer Davos in Dalian, as the global HR and payroll firm released new data showing deep worker anxiety about skills and job security.
The Unbundling of Jobs
Jessica Zhang, ADP's senior vice-president for Asia-Pacific, described what the company calls the Great Job Unbundling: AI is shifting the focus from static job titles to the specific activities people perform and the value they create. "AI is reshaping work tasks while further highlighting the unique value of human judgment, creativity and connection," Zhang said.
Usage numbers underscore how fast the change is happening. ADP's People at Work 2026 study found that roughly half of workers globally use AI every week, and 20 percent use it almost daily. In China, more than a quarter of workers use AI nearly every day, and 73 percent use it several times a week.
Closing the Confidence Gap
That rapid integration has exposed a confidence gap. Only 22 percent of workers globally believe their jobs are secure and will not become obsolete - and the figure drops to 18 percent in Asia-Pacific. Meanwhile, just 26 percent of workers worldwide think they have the skills needed to advance their careers, falling to 22 percent in Asia-Pacific.
Zhang argued that skills mobility cannot be left entirely to individuals. "Employers need to communicate more transparently about how roles will evolve, invest in targeted skills development and build smoother mechanisms for internal talent mobility," she said. The payoff is measurable: ADP's research shows that workers who feel secure in their roles are six times more likely to be fully engaged, half as likely to quit, and 3.3 times more likely to report high productivity.
HR teams that embed workforce planning and skills mapping into regular practice, rather than treating them as one-off projects, stand to close the gap faster. Many are turning to resources like AI for Human Resources to understand how to weave AI literacy into talent strategies.
People-Centered AI Governance
Lily Ma, general manager for North Asia at ADP, said companies should treat AI as a digital colleague rather than just a set of tools. "For companies, the key is not how many AI tools they deploy, but whether those tools truly serve people," she said. AI adoption should be judged by whether it helps employees make better decisions and preserves room for human judgment.
Ma stressed that governance must strengthen accountability and support fairness, transparency, explainability and trust. This is especially urgent in HR functions - recruitment, training, performance management, scheduling and employee services - where AI shapes how workers experience their jobs, understand their organizations and build trust in their employers.
HR leaders who want to equip their teams for this shift can pursue structured development such as an AI Learning Path for HR Managers, which covers AI-driven recruitment, talent analytics and the ethical oversight Ma describes.
Why this matters for HR professionals
AI governance and skills mobility are no longer abstract issues for HR - they are operational imperatives. The data from ADP makes clear that worker anxiety about job security and career growth is widespread, and that trust in how AI is deployed directly affects engagement and retention. HR teams that define roles by tasks rather than titles, build transparent reskilling pathways and insist on ethical guardrails for AI tools will be better positioned to turn the unbundling of work into an advantage, not a source of turnover.
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