Over half of professionals are so annoyed by AI trainings they say it feels like a second job, LinkedIn survey finds
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The mounting pressure to upskill in AI is "fueling insecurity," LinkedIn says, with a third admitting they "feel embarrassed by how little they understand it."
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August 28, 2025
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AI·Artificial IntelligenceOver half of fessionals are so annoyed by AI trainings they say it feels a second job, LinkedIn survey findsBy Nick LichtenbergBy Nick LichtenbergFortune Intelligence EditorNick LichtenbergFortune Intelligence EditorNick Lichtenberg is Fortune Intelligence editor and was formerly Fortune's executive editor of global news.SEE FULL BIO A new LinkedIn report highlights how employees feel the pressures of AI.Abdullah Durmaz/Getty ImagesOver half of fessionals report that AI trainings feel a second job, according to a recent LinkedIn survey, highlighting widespread frustration among workers with the liferation of workplace automation grams
A majority of respondents (51%) expressed irritation with the intensity and frequency of AI training requirements, stating that it’s interfering with their core job responsibilities and contributing to burnout
Employees cited dense training modules, unrealistic deadlines, and a lack of clarity practical benefits as key sources of dissatisfaction
LinkedIn found an 82% increase in people posting on the platform feeling overwhelmed and navigating change this year. “The mounting pressure to upskill in AI is fueling insecurity among fessionals at work — with a third (33%) admitting they feel embarrassed by how little they understand it, and 35% saying they feel nervous talking for fear of sounding uninformed,” LinkedIn wrote
Workplace impact These findings come as employers increase investment in upskilling efforts designed to help staff adapt to new AI-based cesses
Instead of feeling empowered, many fessionals say these trainings add stress and extend their working hours, often without extra compensation or real imvements to workflow
There are real consequences for this and anecdotal evidence that workers are rational to feel insecure
Ignite CEO Eric Vaughan told Fortune earlier this month that he laid off nearly 80% of his staff after they failed to respond to AI training, while Joshua Wöhle of Mindstone relayed a similar story of a client/CEO who ordered his staff to dedicate all Fridays to AI retraining, and invited them to leave the company if they didn’t have a constructive report back on their findings
The survey also found that, amid the flood of AI-related content and grams, fessionals are increasingly turning to their networks—rather than official corporate resources or engines—for trusted advice and support in navigating workplace changes
Some 43% of fessionals say “their network, the people they know, is still their #1 source for advice at work,” ahead of engines and AI tools
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of fessionals say colleagues are helping them make decisions faster and more confidently
Mounting frustration with mandatory AI trainings may be just the tip of the iceberg
A recent MIT study found that 95% of generative AI pilots at enterprises have failed to der any measurable return on investment—fueling growing concerns over an AI stock bubble as corporate spending and investor hype far outweigh results
It seems to be tied with this frustration over ineffective or stumbling AI training efforts
MIT’s sobering findings The MIT NANDA report analyzed hundreds of AI deployments and found only 5% duced rapid revenue acceleration or noticeable operational imvements
The majority of pilots stall in the testing phase or get abandoned, with large companies taking nearly a year to scale jects that rarely succeed
Flawed enterprise integration and a gap in AI literacy—not just model quality—were cited as the main barriers
Wall Street and institutional investors are sounding the alarm, worried that record AI investments aren’t translating to fits and could trigger a painful reckoning for overvalued stocks
Some have started trimming exposure, fearing that the gap between reality and hype may be unsustainable, reminiscent of prior bubbles
The all-important Nvidia earnings on Wednesday illustrate the jitters, as record revenue still failed to prevent investors taking a few percentage points off the stock
Connections to workforce concerns As companies pour money into AI pilots and stocks, employees are increasingly skeptical of both the value and the constant upskilling requirements
With over half of fessionals saying AI trainings feel a second job, the MIT report adds new context: companies’ aggressive push for digital transformation is straining workers, not yet augmenting them, as widely billed
The results underscore mounting tension between the pace of nological implementation and the d experience of fessionals, suggesting that companies may need to rethink their apach to AI upskilling to avoid further alienating employees
For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft
An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing
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