Human–AI Collaboration and Workplace Well-Being: Examining the Mediating Role of Employee Engagement in Employee Productivity

Human–AI collaboration, Workplace Well-being, Employee Engagement, Employee Productivity, Job Demands–Resources Theory

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into organisations is transforming how people work effectively, collaborate and create value. AI-enabled work environments might help to drive efficiency and access to intelligent support, but employee engagement, engagement, and productivity will be impacted significantly by how workers interact with AI-enabled tools. In this context, we have studied the connection between human-AI collaboration (HAC), workplace well-being (WB), employee engagement (ENG), and employee productivity (PROD) with the mediation of employee engagement as a central focus in this study. The study is based on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory that provides an idea on how technology-enabled work conditions and employee resources can influence motivation and performance. The data were derived from 356 knowledge workers who regularly use AI-based tools. The relationships we proposed were modelled using structural equation and confirmatory factor analysis and bootstrap-based mediation analysis. The study finds that human-AI collaboration and work well-being are positively related to employee engagement with HAC (β = .30, p < .001) and WB (β = .29, p < .001) having strong correlations with Engagement. Employee engagement also positively affects productivity (β = .41, p < .001). The mediation analysis shows that employee engagement is a big player in the relationship between HAC and WB in terms of employee productivity, with a moderate indirect effect of 12 for each. The model accounts for 33% of the variance in employee productivity. These findings indicate that the contribution of AI to productivity is not just about technological adoption but is very much about employee engagement and well-being. This paper adds to the expanding literature on AI-enabled work by portraying employee engagement as an important means by which human-technology collaboration and good workplace experiences can lead to productive outcomes in the workplace.