October 9, 2026
Author: Marianne Doventry, Product Manager
This article draws on emerging research in occupational psychology, workplace well-being, human-computer interaction, and employee engagement to explore how organizations can implement AI in ways that enhance both performance and human flourishing.
AI Is Reshaping Employee Well-being
Artificial intelligence is changing work faster than almost any technology we have seen before. The productivity gains are real, and the possibilities are exciting. Yet the most important question for leaders is not simply how quickly AI can be adopted; it is how well organizations can help people adapt, grow, and continue to do meaningful work in an AI-enabled environment.
Employees are asking how AI will reshape their roles, what skills they need to stay relevant, how quickly they are expected to adapt, and where work ends when technology makes constant productivity feel possible. These may sound like technology questions, but they are also well-being questions.
For decades, workplace well-being focused primarily on physical health, stress management, and work-life balance. Those remain essential, but AI is adding a new dimension: confidence in the future of work. When employees understand how their roles may evolve, how they can build new skills, and how their organization will support them through change, AI transformation becomes less about disruption and more about shared progress.
The leaders who will define the next era of work are not the ones who treat AI as a tool alone. They are the ones who understand that adoption, trust, learning, culture, and well-being are deeply connected. They use human-centered AI to ask a more strategic question: how can technology help people do better work while also strengthening the employee experience?
At Terryberry, we believe AI should amplify human potential, not replace it. Every AI capability should strengthen connection, recognition, well-being, and decision-making while preserving human judgment, empathy, and expertise. The goal isn't to make work less human; the goal is to help people do what they do best, better.
AI Is Changing How Work Feels
AI and digitalization can improve employee well-being when they are introduced with intention,
communication, and care. Their ability to analyze, create, predict, and automate can help employees work more effectively and give leaders better visibility into where support is needed. At the same time, organizations need to acknowledge that new tools can change expectations, workflows, and skill requirements quickly. The opportunity is to make that change feel guided rather than overwhelming.
Implementation of AI is key. The American Psychological Association’s 2024 Work in America survey found that 41% of workers agreed or strongly agreed that they worry AI may make some or all of their job duties obsolete in the future.
With clear communication, practical training, inclusive access, and visible leadership support, AI can reduce friction and help employees focus on higher-value work. Without those supports, the same tools can create uncertainty. This is why AI implementation should be treated as both a technology initiative and an employee experience initiative.
Employees are not simply learning new tools; they are learning new ways of working. That shift requires confidence, clarity, and a sense of agency. Leaders can reduce technostress strain by creating environments where employees have time to learn, permission to ask questions, and confidence that their human capabilities still matter.
Why Well-being Matters More Than Ever
Employee well-being is more than a personal benefit. It is a strategic advantage. Employees who feel supported, valued, and optimistic about their future are better positioned to experiment, solve problems creatively, and contribute new ideas. In a period of rapid change, well-being becomes part of the infrastructure that helps organizations innovate responsibly.
Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace research reinforces the business case for well-being and
engagement: in 2024, low employee engagement cost the global economy an estimated $8.9 trillion, or 9% of global GDP. Gallup’s 2025 reporting also found that global engagement fell from 23% to 21% in 2024, costing the world economy an estimated $438 billion in lost productivity.
Innovation has long been one of the strongest drivers of competitive advantage. Yet innovation requires a degree of psychological safety. Amy Edmondson defines team psychological safety as “a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking.” In the context of AI transformation, that means employees need to be able to ask questions, admit uncertainty, raise concerns, and experiment without fear of embarrassment or punishment.
When employees feel the threat of replacement, they are less likely to take risks or embrace new ways of working. When they feel included in change, they are more likely to learn, adapt, and contribute. As organizations invest in AI, they must also invest in the relational experiences that drive engagement, trust, adaptability, and innovation. Human-centered AI is not only a culture priority; it is a practical strategy for sustaining performance through change.
The Well-being Opportunity Hidden Inside AI
Much of the ROI conversation around AI focuses on efficiency, but some of its greatest potential may lie in improving employee well-being. When implemented thoughtfully, AI can help employees spend less time on repetitive administrative work and more time on meaningful, engaging tasks. The benefits may be especially meaningful for employees performing routine work, where automation can remove friction and create space for higher-value contributions.
In LifeLabs Learning 2026 Mid-Year Workplace Trends Report, “41% said protecting focus is their biggest productivity challenge. Interruptions, competing priorities, and reactive work are making sustained focus harder to maintain.” AI can help.
AI can reduce cognitive overload and constant context switching by helping employees find information faster, focus for longer stretches, and work with greater flexibility and autonomy. It can also free managers to spend more time coaching and supporting employees. Research suggests that AI adoption can have a positive impact on employee mental health when it is paired with improvements to the overall work environment.
In addition, AI can help leaders see patterns that might otherwise remain hidden, including employee segments that may need additional support, areas where change is creating friction, and programs that could have the greatest impact.
Rather than relying on intuition alone, leaders can analyze thousands of employee comments, survey responses, and behavioral signals to identify emerging risks and opportunities earlier. AI-powered listening tools can surface subtle trends across teams and locations that are often missed in manual reviews, enabling more targeted and effective action.
The takeaway is simple: AI will not improve well-being on its own. But when it is implemented with thoughtful design, clear communication, and a genuine commitment to the employee experience, it can help create work that feels more focused, meaningful, and sustainable.
Terryberry's Human-Centered Approach to AI
As AI becomes more integrated into employee experience platforms, organizations have an opportunity to be intentional about the role technology plays in culture. The question is not whether AI belongs in the employee experience. The question is how it can be used to strengthen the conditions that help people feel seen, supported, connected, and capable.
Our approach is guided by three principles.
- Human First
AI should enhance relationships, belonging, recognition, and well-being. AI should not replace human interaction.
The strongest cultures are built through human connection. Technology should support those moments, not substitute for them.
- Insight Over Automation
AI should help people make better decisions, not simply automate processes.
Whether surfacing engagement trends, identifying recognition opportunities, or highlighting potential well-being concerns, AI is most valuable when it gives leaders actionable insights they can use to support their people.
- Empower, Don't Replace
AI works best when it augments employees, managers, and HR teams.
Technology can reduce administrative burden and uncover patterns that would otherwise go unnoticed. But expertise, empathy, judgment, and relationship-building remain fundamentally human responsibilities.
AI should make people more effective, not less essential.
Three Ways HR Leaders Can Support Well-being in the Age of AI
- Prioritize Continuous Learning
Employees don't need to become AI experts overnight. They need confidence that they can continue to learn, adapt, and grow. Providing training, development opportunities, and accessible resources helps reduce uncertainty while strengthening resilience and trust.
- Recognize Adaptability
Many employees are investing significant effort into learning new technologies, modifying workflows, and helping their teams navigate change. Celebrate curiosity, experimentation, collaboration, and growth. These behaviors are essential to both employee success and organizational innovation.
- Listen Frequently
Employee sentiment can shift quickly during periods of transformation. Pulse surveys, feedback
opportunities, and regular manager check-ins help organizations understand where employees are thriving and where additional support may be needed. At Terryberry, we believe listening creates visibility, action creates trust, and trust is the foundation of successful change.
AI Impacts All Six Culture Pillars
These three actions are a strong starting point, but AI transforms the full culture system employees rely on to feel connected, capable, and supported.
At Terryberry, engagement is built through six interconnected culture pillars. While well-being is often where employees first feel the impact of AI-driven change, every pillar plays a role in helping employees adapt and thrive.
- Belonging: Technology cannot replace human connection. As work evolves, organizations must continue creating opportunities for collaboration, community, and psychological safety.
- Empowerment: Periods of transformation require more communication, not less. Employees need clear expectations, honest conversations, and visibility into how AI is being used within the organization.
- Equity: The distribution, education around, and access to new tools should not be reserved for the elite within an organization. Instead, tools should be used to meet people where they are and help them evolve in ways that matter.
- Leadership: Employees will look to leaders for transparency, trust, and guidance. AI may provide recommendations, but people still need context, judgment, and empathy.
- Purpose: As work becomes increasingly automated, purpose becomes even more important. Employees need reassurance that their contributions matter, and not just their output, but their creativity, adaptability, collaboration, and growth.
- Well-being: AI can reduce repetitive work and administrative burden, but it can also create uncertainty. Supporting well-being means helping employees feel confident, capable, and supported throughout change.
Together, these six pillars create resilience. When organizations strengthen all six, employees are better equipped to navigate uncertainty and embrace change.
The Future of Well-being Is Human-Centered
The conversation around AI often focuses on technology, but the more durable conversation is about people. Human-centered AI strategies that prioritize belonging, empowerment, equity, leadership, purpose, and well-being are more likely to create resilient organizations because they help employees participate in change rather than merely absorb it.
The impact of AI on employee well-being is not predetermined. It will be shaped by leadership decisions, workplace culture, communication practices, and the support systems that organizations build around the technology. AI can increase productivity, but its greatest long-term value may come from helping people work with more clarity, focus, and purpose. Organizations that thrive in the AI era will not necessarily be the ones with the most advanced tools; they will be the ones that pair innovation with trust, learning, and a deeply human understanding of work.
Research & Further Reading
- Microsoft and LinkedIn. “2024 Work Trend Index: AI at Work Is Here. Now Comes the Hard
- Part.” Microsoft WorkLab, 2024.
- American Psychological Association. “2024 Work in America Survey: Psychological Safety in
- the Changing Workplace.” APA, 2024.
- Gallup. “State of the Global Workplace: 2024 Report.” Gallup, 2024.
- Gallup. “Global Engagement Falls for the Second Time Since 2009.” Gallup, 2025.
- World Economic Forum. “The Future of Jobs Report 2025.” World Economic Forum, 2025.
- Edmondson, Amy. “Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams.” Administrative
- Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383, 1999.
- LifeLabs Learning. 2026 Mid-Year Workplace Trends Report. LifeLabs Learning, 2026.
