Artificial Intelligence-based Virtual Assistant and Employee Engagement: An Empirical Investigation

Journal: Personnel Review 

Synopsis:  

With the emerging importance of AI, there is an increasing interest in explaining human-computer interactions and their effect on employee engagement. This study is among the early empirical studies examining the implications of AI-based virtual assistants on employee outcomes. In an increasingly distributed and hybrid work era, enabling personal interactions between employees and their leaders becomes critical to ensure commitment, engagement, and performance. Enhanced employee engagement significantly contributes to sustained organizational performance and growth. While Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in the HR domain are increasing, research to understand the implication of AI-based virtual assistants on enabling trust and managing human resources is, at best, limited. 

This study draws on a strong theoretical grounding and is based on a multi-source, time-lagged field study spanning over ten months to investigate the impact of AI-based virtual assistants on employee attitudes, namely perception of fairness and employee engagement. 

The study finds that the usage of AI-based virtual assistants directly impacts employee engagement and indirectly affects employees’ perceptions of fairness. Most employees build perceptions of fairness about employers over their extended employment tenure based on their past performance. However, the study finds that this relationship becomes statistically non-significant, indicating that AI-based virtual assistants play a role in shaping perceptions of fairness. 

The study contributes to the emerging literature on AI-based virtual assistants in HRM and employee engagement. The virtual assistants’ use to enhance employee engagement emerges as an opportunity for task substitution, where routine tasks are automated, and augmentation, where the virtual assistants provide additional support. The study demonstrates that AI-based virtual assistants can enhance employee engagement and help build perceptions of fairness among employees.