How do employees in the Polish financial sector react to automation in their workplace?

Banks and other financial institutions are at the forefront of digital transformation, driven by artificial intelligence technologies and accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to better understand automation within Poland’s financial sector by identifying factors that influence automation levels and future expectations and by examining how the pace of automation changed during the pandemic. We analyzed data from 172 questionnaires collected from employees in the Polish financial sector in October and November 2020, along with insights on digitization from prior interviews with bank CEOs and managers. Our findings show that age, education, and firm characteristics relate to automation experience and that this experience influences employees’ views on future automation. Hence, it emphasizes the importance of demographic factors, workplace environment, and technological infrastructure in shaping experiences and expectations of automation, preparing the groundwork for future policies to manage the evolving work landscape amid technological advancements. The study improves our understanding of employees’ attitudes toward digital transformation and helps tackle the organizational roots of technological unemployment.