Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming modern workplaces, reshaping job demands and resources and influencing employee well-being. This systematic review investigates AI's dual role as both a job resource and a job demand through the lens of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model heuristically and the concept of decent work. Despite growing interest, existing research is fragmented, with a narrow focus on specific applications, limited theoretical grounding, and a lack of a holistic understanding. Moreover, few systematic reviews exist in this rapidly evolving field, and most of them study employee wellbeing as a secondary point of interest. Following the PRISMA guidelines, covering studies published between 2020-2025 across databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed, we analyze 46 identified studies to organize the research landscape and address the existing shortcomings.
Our results showed five main categories of mediating mechanisms, with mainly motivational (N=15), followed by affective and stress related (N=9), social-cognitive (N=7), technology fit and human interaction (N=5), while only one study analyzed learning and knowledge processes. Moreover, personal resources (N=5), leadership (N=3), HRM systems and organizational support (N=3), personal demands (N=2), such as technological anxiety and organizational context (N=1) act as key moderators that shape whether AI functions as a demand or a resource.
The review provides a theory-informed mapping that clusters the mechanisms through which AI influences well-being, distinguishes between its beneficial and detrimental pathways, and highlights the contextual moderators that shape these effects. Findings offer actionable insights for managers, designers, and policymakers seeking to align AI implementation with sustainable and human-centered work design.