Increases in minimum wage also can be good for more highly paid workers, according to the results of an Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey released Wednesday.

Express’ poll of 1,003 US hiring decision-makers took place May 16 to June 3. Its poll of job-seekers included 1,002 US adults and was conducted between May 28 and June 10.

According to the survey, 35% of responding hiring managers said that their companies, hypothetically, would increase wages across the board in the event of a state-mandated increase, and not just for minimum wage workers. Thirty-one percent of tho hiring manager respondents, however, said that their companies would bring more automation and artificial intelligence online to counter mandatory wage increases to maintain costs.

Twenty percent of the higher managers polled said they were less than optimistic about the outcome of increasing wages, asserting that increases would cause their companies to offset the costs by reducing the workforce (19%), outsourcing more work (17%) or decreasing the number of hours that employees work (17%).

“Some may experience higher operating costs, which could lead to price adjustments for their products or services,” said Sara Delafuente, an Express franchise owner in Oregon, where the minimum wage increased to $15.95 on July 1. “However, there may also be positive outcomes, such as increased employee satisfaction and productivity and a boost in consumer spending power, which could benefit businesses in the long run.”

There could be a downside on the employee side, according to the research.

“While 76% of job seekers believe minimum wage increases benefit the personal finances of minimum wage workers in the long run, 68% are concerned these workers will face greater job security worries,” according to the report. “Additionally, 58% of job seekers would quit their jobs if they found out an entry-level employee and senior-level employee were paid the same following a minimum wage increase.”

Almost half of the states started the year with increases to the minimum wage across the board.