Are We Becoming Professionally Obsolete?

Goodbye, FOMO. Hello... FOBO?

The now 22-year-old acronym for Fear of Missing Out is being rapidly replaced by a similar, but potentially far more worrying phrase: Fear of Becoming Obsolete. A Gallup survey indicates that nearly 22% of US workers believe they could be made professionally obsolete. Surprisingly enough, younger workers are twice as likely to expect this to happen.

Experts warn that this fear is a troublesome development—one leaders should not ignore. People are already starting to ask themselves big-picture questions such as “Who am I?” and “What is my professional self-worth?” says Guangrong Dai, senior director of research at the Korn Ferry Institute. An acquaintance of Dai’s was recently faced with the phasing out of his job; with his own skills no longer marketable, he just gave up professionally. Dai worries that many others might do the same. Even if workers don’t necessarily drop out of the workforce, he observes, they could become less engaged and productive at a time when many companies desperately need them to innovate. “It’s a learned helplessness,” he says.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, AI is driving much of this sentiment. Collectively, companies will likely spend more than $100 billion this year to add AI-related tools and infrastructure to their organizations, with many leaders focusing on AI’s productivity potential rather than its business-expanding opportunities. More than half (52%) of US workers worry that the technology will displace them, nearly twice the number who said so in 2024.

Older employees see company leaders saying that layoffs and restructurings are AI related. Younger workers fear that the tech will take over early-career assignments they themselves would normally have done, depriving them of the opportunity to prove themselves.

But the phenomenon is not driven solely by the new technology. Many younger workers are being told that their lack of critical emotional-intelligence skills will prevent them from being valuable contributors in the modern workforce. Many employers complain that Gen-Z workers aren’t able to sustain focus, resolve conflicts, or communicate effectively in-person. Some experts worry that Gen Zers are internalizing that criticism and allowing it to exacerbate their fears about their own obsolescence. Gen Z has the lowest levels of social well-being of any generation, with over 50% saying that basic needs like “belonging” are not being met at work, according to a 2025 Korn Ferry survey.

Leaders can help address at least some of the FOBO worries. They need to explain that AI is a tool that augments, not replaces, human workers. “At the heart of every AI-ready workplace is the human and AI partnership—people and technology learning and achieving together,” says Bryan Ackermann, Korn Ferry’s head of AI strategy and transformation. Leaders also can assure workers that while AI is changing how work is done, it’s not doing it overnight. A recent MIT study estimates that by 2029, AI will be able to complete most text-based tasks very well, which would give millions of people a couple of years either to learn new skills or to evaluate their next career steps.

Plus, leaders should lean into the big demand from workers to learn how to use the tech. In a recent survey, almost two-thirds (63%) of workers across the world said they'd trade a 10% pay increase for a chance to improve their AI and digital skills.

Experts say organizations can help with the soft-skill worries as well. Some firms have paired Gen-Z employees with senior leaders. The senior leader learns about AI tools or social trends, while the Gen-Z employee observes the leader’s “soft power,” including how they handle a room, read body language, and manage tense meetings. “Gen Z is restless for development,” says Roger Philby, global leader of Korn Ferry’s People Strategy and Performance practice.

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