AI can make employees happy — if leaders use it properly

Employee engagement is falling. Leaders can either wield AI for efficiency gains, or integrate it to foster meaning and connection in the workforce

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Your company is rolling out artificial intelligence. The question is whether you want to build a better future for your employees or just a faster treadmill.

Global employee engagement has been in worrying decline for the past two years, according to analytics firm Gallup. Persistent disengagement — where employees feel disconnected from their work, colleagues, and organizational mission — can significantly hinder productivity, innovation, and competitive advantage. AI tool adoption further complicates this pre-existing challenge.

Half of employed U.S. adults use AI in their roles at least a few times annually, Gallup data reveal, and a notable segment deploys it frequently. The problem is that rising machine intelligence does not solve declining human engagement on its own. Many leaders focus on AI's potential for efficiency gains, cost reduction, and process optimization, but by concentrating on incremental productivity improvements, they risk missing a more critical opportunity to enhance job meaningfulness and connection in a world of algorithms.

AI can empower employees, free........

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