Last month, I sat in a project review meeting where the client suggested we should “just use ChatGPT” to generate the content strategy rather than paying for my team’s expertise. When I explained that AI outputs require significant professional oversight, fact-checking and refinement, they responded, “But it’s just words, isn’t it?”

After 30+ years working as a contractor in digital spaces this dismissive attitude was depressingly familiar, even if the specific technology referenced was new.

The ever-changing excuses for contractor bullying

From the early days of web development through to today’s AI revolution, I’ve witnessed contractors being bullied, dismissed and devalued through a predictable pattern:

1. New technology emerges
2. Clients develop a superficial understanding of said technology
3. This limited understanding becomes a weapon to undermine contractor expertise
4. Contractors face impossible expectations, diminished value and questioned integrity

In the 1990s, clients would dismiss the complexities of building accessible websites because “my teenage son can make a website in his bedroom.” In the 2000s, “agile” became code for “you should work faster and cheaper but with the same quality.”

During the responsive design era, clients would ask why we couldn’t “just make it work on mobile” as if it were a simple toggle switch.

AI is simply the latest iteration of this pattern, a new stick to hit contractors with.

The power dynamics at play

The root issue has never been about technology. It’s about power imbalances in professional relationships.

Contractors exist in a precarious space: brought in for expertise the organisation lacks, paid more than permanent staff (often generating resentment), yet lacking the protections those permanent staff enjoy. This creates the perfect conditions for contractor bullying to flourish.

I’ve witnessed senior civil service leaders give impassioned speeches about zero tolerance for bullying, only to turn around and berate contractors in the next meeting.

I’ve seen executives smash phone sets during calls and reduce staff to tears with explosive outbursts.

I once presented a winning strategy at a government hackathon, only to have my client later claim I’d “clearly stolen” ideas she’d been “championing for years”.

These behaviours existed long before AI. What’s changing is not the dynamic but the justification.

How AI amplifies existing vulnerabilities

AI hasn’t created new forms of contractor bullying. It has intensified existing ones in several critical ways:

The speed trap

“ChatGPT can generate this in seconds. Why is it taking you days?”

This complaint fundamentally misunderstands what quality content production involves. The expectation that human professionals should work at machine speed ignores the critical thinking, fact-checking and strategic alignment that AI cannot provide.

The value erosion

“Why should we pay you £500 when AI can do this for £20?”

This devaluation ignores the expertise required to evaluate AI outputs, identify factual errors, ensure accessibility and align with strategic objectives.

It treats content as a commodity rather than a strategic asset.

The integrity question

“Are you just using AI and charging us full rates?”

Perhaps most damagingly, AI has introduced new suspicion into contractor relationships. Clients simultaneously expect AI-level productivity while questioning whether contractors are using AI at all, creating an impossible situation.

The mental health toll

The psychological impact of these contractor bullying dynamics cannot be overstated. When your expertise is constantly questioned, your value diminished, and your integrity doubted, it takes a toll.

I’ve watched talented colleagues take on unsustainable workloads to meet AI-inspired expectations. Others have internalised the message that their skills are becoming obsolete, leading to anxiety and imposter syndrome.

A content designer I’ve worked with for years recently confided that she’s now managing triple the project load to maintain her income levels as AI drives down pricing.

“The work is still complex,” she told me, “but clients expect it faster and cheaper. I’m working nights now to keep my head above water.”

This isn’t unsustainable for both individual wellbeing and the quality of work produced.

Protecting yourself in the AI era

As contractors navigating this shifting landscape, we need practical strategies to maintain our professional integrity and mental health:

1. Reframe the conversation
   Move discussions away from tools and toward outcomes. Whether the content achieves business objectives and meets user needs is what matters, not how it was produced.
2. Educate with evidence
   Develop case studies demonstrating the difference between raw AI outputs and professionally refined content. Show rather than tell why expertise matters.
3. Document your process
   Keep records of the work involved in AI-assisted projects, including prompt iterations, research time and editing. This helps justify pricing when questioned.
4. Set clear boundaries
   Define what quality means to you and be willing to walk away from work that doesn’t allow you to maintain those standards.
5. Value-based pricing
   Consider shifting from hourly to outcome-based pricing models that reflect the value of what you deliver rather than the time it takes.
6. Collective action
   Join professional communities where contractors share experiences and strategies. There’s power in realising you’re not alone in facing these challenges.

The future isn’t machines vs humans

The uncomfortable truth is that some clients will always find ways to devalue contractor work, regardless of technological shifts. AI is just the latest excuse in a long history of excuses for contractor bullying.

What gives me hope is seeing contractors who refuse to internalise these messages, who understand that their value lies in strategic thinking, experience and professional judgement, not just in quickly producing outputs.

As one experienced content designer recently told me, “AI hasn’t changed the fundamental truth of our profession. Good content takes time, thought and care. The tools change, but the craft remains.”

And perhaps most importantly: no client is worth putting your health at risk for. In three decades of work, I’ve never regretted walking away from toxic relationships, only staying in them too long.