When Avoidance Helps: How Approach and Avoidance Job Crafting Shape Perceived Benefits of Ai At Work

Understanding the perceived benefits of artificial intelligence is crucial for the success of digital transformation and the effective design of technological interventions, as these perceptions determine the extent to which employees can integrate AI into their work and use it as part of their job crafting strategies. The aim of this study was to examine how approach and avoidance job crafting influence the perceived benefits of using AI in the workplace. The linear regression results showed that not only proactive forms of job crafting (APJ_CHL: β = 0.244, p < 0.001; APJ_STR: β = 0.156, p = 0.011), but also avoidance job crafting (AVJ_HIND: β = 0.148, p = 0.002) significantly predicted positive perceived benefits of AI use. The findings therefore suggest that positive attitudes toward AI are shaped not only by growth-oriented strategies, as it is implicitly predicted by traditional technology acceptance models (TAM, UTAUT), but also by defensive strategies aimed at reducing job demands. The findings of this study offer several practical recommendations for organizations implementing artificial intelligence into their work processes.