Motivating employee voicing behavior in optimizing workplace generative ai adoption: The role of organizational listening

Given the flourishing of artificial intelligence (AI), organizations are increasingly exploring ways to seamlessly incorporate novel technologies in the workplace. The emergence of generative AI has further propelled the transformation of a technology-led managerial era. This study aims to investigate the role of organizational listening during workplace generative AI training in helping employees adapt to and embrace generative AI adoption by voicing suggestions for its improvements. Within this framework, we examined the employees’ psychological adaptation process, focusing on perceived autonomy and competence through the lens of self-determination theory (SDT), as well as employee attitudes toward generative AI adoption. Results of an online survey with 500 full-time employees in the United States suggest that organizational listening was positively associated with employees’ perceived autonomy and competence, which in turn, boosted their positive attitudes toward workplace generative AI adoption. This, ultimately, leads to employee voicing behavior. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are elaborated.