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Coworkers who lean on AI to help colleagues get less thanks, two studies find

Study title: AI Usage in Interpersonal Helping Comes at a Cost: Understanding Its Negative Effect on Gratitude and Reciprocation in the Workplace

Evidence type
Controlled or validated comparison
Sample
n = 645
Sources
1 sourcePeer-reviewed
Published
2 min read
Truvace record
TRV-2026-2538cite or check it

Study title: AI Usage in Interpersonal Helping Comes at a Cost: Understanding Its Negative Effect on Gratitude and Reciprocation in the Workplace

Two studies on workplace helping found that the more a coworker used AI to help a colleague, the less the person receiving help valued it. Across a scenario-based experiment with 300 participants and a critical incident study with 345 participants, higher AI use in helping was linked to lower perceived effort and lower perceived benevolent intention from the helper.

Read the study abstract

As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in interpersonal helping among coworkers grows, its impact on recipients remains underexplored. This research examines how varying levels of AI usage in interpersonal helping (AUIH) impact recipients' reciprocation, alongside the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions. Through a scenario-based experiment (Study 1, N = 300) and a critical incident technique (Study 2, N = 345), both studies demonstrate that higher levels of AUIH are associated with lower perception…

The problem

In two studies (a 300-person scenario experiment and a 345-person incident survey), colleagues who received help that relied more on AI saw the helper as less effortful and less well-meaning, felt less gratitude and were less likely to return the favour.

In brief

Those weaker perceptions were in turn related to less gratitude and reduced reciprocation, meaning recipients were less inclined to return the favour. The findings matter for workplaces where AI tools are increasingly used to assist coworkers, because help that costs the helper less effort may earn less goodwill.

Recipients' own attitudes toward AI changed the picture. Recipients with greater AI skill showed a stronger negative link between AI use and perceived effort, while those with greater trust in AI showed a weaker negative effect on perceived benevolent intention.

Main points

  1. Study 1 was a scenario-based experiment with 300 participants.
  2. Study 2 used the critical incident technique with 345 participants.
  3. Higher AI use in helping was associated with lower perceived helper effort and lower perceived benevolent intention.
  4. Lower perceived effort and intention were related to diminished gratitude and reduced reciprocation.
  5. Recipients' AI skill amplified the negative link between AI use and perceived effort.
  6. Recipients' AI trust reduced the negative effect of AI use on perceived benevolent intention.

The full story

The research examines AI usage in interpersonal helping among coworkers, a practice that is growing while its effects on the people receiving help remain underexplored. It tests how different levels of AI use affect recipients' reciprocation, along with the mechanisms and boundary conditions behind the effect.

The two designs point the same way. In the 300-person scenario experiment and the 345-person critical incident study, greater AI involvement in help went with lower perceived effort and benevolent intention, which in turn went with less gratitude and less reciprocation.

Two moderators shaped the results. Recipients' AI skill strengthened the negative relationship between AI use and perceived effort, while recipients' AI trust softened the harm to perceived benevolent intention. The authors say the findings offer practical insights for managing AI use among coworkers.

Sources

1 on file
  1. International Journal of Human–Computer Interactiondoi:10.1080/10447318.2026.2708474
    Peer-reviewed2026-08-05

Talk it over

Four questions to start onWho carries this cost, and what would have to change to prevent it?

Start with a question

Coworkers who lean on AI to help colleagues get less thanks, two studies findhttps://truvace.com/item/ai-usage-in-interpersonal-helping-comes-at-a-cost-understanding-its-negative-eff

  1. Who carries this cost, and what would have to change to prevent it?

    The problem In two studies (a 300-person scenario experiment and a 345-person incident survey), colleagues who received help that relied more on AI saw the helper as less effortful and less well-meaning, felt less gratitude and were less likely to return the favour.

    Answer in the thread

  2. How do we know? What can this kind of evidence show, and what can’t it?

    The evidence This rests on a controlled comparison with a sample of 645, from International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction.

    Answer in the thread

  3. What does it leave open? What else would you want to know before acting on it?

    The record’s own caveat The findings rest on a scenario-based experiment and recalled critical incidents, and they describe associations between AI use, perceptions and reciprocation rather than direct measures of workplace behaviour over time.

    Answer in the thread

  4. Have you seen AI used this way where you study, work or live? Did it go the same way?

    Answer in the thread

The questions are the same on every record. The details under them are taken from this record as written.

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