60% of Workers Say Policy Changes Will Impact Them Personally Before AI — But They’re Not Ready For It

As board rooms race to predict the future of work, the disruptive potential of artificial intelligence tends to steal the spotlight. But according to new research from Justworks and The Harris Poll, there's a more immediate disruptor looming large in the minds of American workers: policy changes.

Our survey reveals that three-fifths (60%) of working Americans believe policy changes will have more of a direct impact on them personally over the next year-far more than the 40% who say the same about advancements in AI. That perception holds across industries, roles, and company sizes.

The message is clear: workers see policy changes as the bigger wildcard right now. Small business leaders and HR pros should take note-nearly half of employees surveyed (45%) say they're looking to their HR team to help them understand the impact of recent policy changes.

Keeping Up With Policy Changes

Workers at small businesses (under 100 employees) are more likely to feel in the dark (46% don't feel knowledgeable about recent policy changes vs. 38% of those at companies with 100+ employees)-highlighting a growing pressure on HR leaders at small companies to become frontline translators of complex policy shifts.

Information overload is real. There are new tariffs, potential changes to key provisions of the tax code like Section 174 and the Section 199A, federal funding pauses, and ongoing delays in paying out Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) funds. The majority of employees (52%) feel too overwhelmed to keep up with all the recent policy changes.

This moment presents both a challenge and an opportunity for small businesses. HR teams are being asked to do more than ever. But at the same time, the potential impact of confidently navigating change, communicating transparently with teams, and creating a compliant and resilient workplace experience has never been higher.

Workers are split on how closely they are following recent policy changes and the resulting impacts in the news, requiring a thoughtful approach:

• Some are completely detached, including 7% who "couldn't care less" since they feel "none of it impacts them anyway." And, a third (37%) don't think that recent policy changes really impact them personally.

• Many are paying someattention, with just over a quarter "waiting for the highlights" and feeling that "if it's important, they'll hear about it eventually" (27%).

• Another two in five (38%) are "skimming the headlines" and "paying enough attention to sound informed at dinner."

• In contrast, the remaining quarter (27%) are fully "locked in" and say they're "refreshing their feed like it's their full-time job."

  • White collar workers are especially likely to be "locked in" compared to their other employed counterparts in other industries (32% vs. 23%).

Regardless of how closely workers are following the news, majorities agree that focusing too much on the headlines these days isn't good for their mental health (71%).

Same Stress, Different Sources: Workers Are Still Bracing for Impact

In early 2023, fears of a looming recession were top of mind for workers across the country. Cutbacks, hiring freezes, and economic uncertainty triggered a wave of anxiety about job security and benefits.

Fast-forward to today, and you might assume the mood has shifted-inflation is cooling, and the recession never fully materialized across the entire economy. But according to our new research, workers feel just as uneasy now (if not more so) as they did back then-perhaps as a result of the difficulty they now feel keeping up with policy changes. Again, workers view this as a bigger disruptor to their lives over the next year than advancements in AI.

Key Shifts in Job Concerns:

• The biggest increase in concern was about benefits/perks being cut-up 7 points (55% vs. 48%).

• Worry about company culture and getting laid off also rose directionally (55% vs. 52%; 46% vs. 42%, respectively).

• A few concerns, like salary reduction, actually saw a slight decrease-in line with less prominent concerns about inflation and a recession-but not enough to signal true relief.

Workers report taking similar actions as they did in January of 2023 due to the economic environment, with some notable reductions in signals of financial stress.

Key Shifts in Actions Taken

• Job-seeking behaviors are consistent (applying to jobs, researching salaries, updating resumes).

• Workers are less likely to dip into savings now than two years ago-but also less likely to work extra hours.

• A few behaviors, like saving more money and starting side hustles, saw slight increases-suggesting a possible shift toward quiet financial prepping rather than reactive moves.

Research Method

The survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Justworks from March 20-24, 2025 among 2,088 U.S. adults ages 18 and older including 1,236 respondents who are employed full-time or part-time. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the total sample data is accurate to within ± 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact press@justworks.com.