Employees who see their leaders as empathetic tend to view artificial intelligence as an opportunity rather than a threat. Workplace culture plays a key role in shaping how workers perceive AI’s impact on their jobs and futures.
Empathy shifts the AI narrative
The 2026 State of Workplace Empathy report, released August 11 by benefits and HR technology company Businessolver, surveyed over 1,000 U.S. workers across six industries. Those in financial services, manufacturing, and technology showed significantly more optimism about AI’s role in their careers when they worked in empathetic environments.
Over 80% of employees in such settings said AI made them feel more hopeful about their future with their organization. In toxic workplaces, only 33% shared that sentiment. Training access also differed sharply: nearly 90% of workers in empathetic cultures reported receiving adequate AI training, compared to 51% overall and just a third in toxic environments.
Workers in supportive settings felt more in control. Eighty percent said AI gave them greater agency over their work. Meanwhile, half of those in toxic cultures worried they would fall behind in using the technology effectively and feared its impact on their job security.
Leaders struggle to keep up
The report also included responses from over 300 C-suite executives. Nearly a third admitted their organization’s primary reason for investing in AI was to cut costs by reducing headcount. Yet 60% recognized that empathy was becoming more important as AI adoption grew.
Related: Most college grads stay in state for jobs
Despite this awareness, more than 60% of CEOs said demonstrating empathy in their daily work had become harder—a 32-point increase from the previous year. Businessolver defined empathy in a June report as the ability to understand or experience another person’s feelings or perspective.
The gap between leadership and employees extends beyond AI. Research from Zety and Sigma Assessment Systems found that managers in healthcare and human resources scored below average in emotional sensitivity and cooperativeness. While some detachment may help leaders make difficult decisions, Businessolver’s data showed a clear downside: employees who viewed their organization as unempathetic were 1.5 times more likely to leave within six months. This turnover could cost companies an estimated $180 billion annually.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) held a news conference on the impact of artificial intelligence on workers on April 16, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
The report made one point clear: how employees experience AI depends less on the technology itself and more on the people guiding its use. Workers who receive adequate training and support are far more likely to adopt change rather than resist it.
Leave a Reply