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Industry · Jobs, HR & staffing · Week 44, 2026

Human relations

Hiring in the age of AI, flatter companies, the office, and HR teams that manage agents as well as people.

Jobs and the future of work
0.3%
People quoted
61

AI-generated Questions, positions and links named by an AI model from the quotes and figures on this page. Every quote is checked word for word against its source; numbers come only from the surveys shown. How subject pages are made

Human relations

Media

Human relations

Opinions

The questions the field argues about, and each side in the words of the people who hold it.

Will AI make organizations leaner, or strengthen capacity and performance?

Agent-led capacity

People will take on a larger role managing digital workers, while HR systems develop into capacity management systems.

And the humans then take on a bigger role as managing the agents. And now that we're four years or more into the AI revolution, it's very clear that the agents are going to be like digital workers.

Josh BersinFounder and CEO, The Josh Bersin Company; global industry analystThe Josh Bersin Company, 21 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem

I think these systems are inevitably going to be capacity development and capacity management systems.

Josh BersinFounder and CEO, The Josh Bersin Company; global industry analystThe Josh Bersin Company, 16 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem

Growth, not cost cutting

AI projects should be treated as business projects that build performance, not as tools for reducing costs.

First of all, you're not buying AI as a tool to cut costs. Just don't think that way.

Josh BersinFounder and CEO, The Josh Bersin Company; global industry analystThe Josh Bersin Company, 24 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem

And each time you do an AI project, you should think about it not as an AI project, think about it as a business project.

Josh BersinFounder and CEO, The Josh Bersin Company; global industry analystThe Josh Bersin Company, 24 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem

Should organizations hire for fit and density, or grow through broader hiring?

Hire for talent density

Hiring more people is not the answer; organizations should seek an engaged, aligned workforce and handle departures humanely.

It's a company that is simply saying we want the most engaged, energetic, aligned workforce we can possibly create.

Josh BersinFounder and CEO, The Josh Bersin Company; global industry analystThe Josh Bersin Company, 31 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem

So hiring more people is not going to help.

Josh BersinFounder and CEO, The Josh Bersin Company; global industry analystThe Josh Bersin Company, 31 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem

1 more quote with Pro

Invest in entry-level hiring

Companies positioned for future success will be those that continue to hire people at entry level.

The companies three to five years from now that are going to be the most successful are those companies that doubled down on entry-level hiring in this environment

Nickle LaMoreauxChief Human Resources Officer, IBMInterview (reported by Fortune), Feb 2026Report a problem

Will AI reshape hiring around human connections, or leave hiring centered on applications?

Hire through connections

Profiles and shared contributions can help people discover one another and offer an alternative to repeatedly applying through job platforms.

It's going to help people find you. It's going to help your future co founder, you know, find you and realize that you might be into the same things.

David BoothThe a16z Show, 31 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem

And our hope is that with cosign, with people contributing to their profiles, contributing to lists, enriching our graph even more, as agents are able to search through that, we'll be able to get much better answers to those questions.

Dhruv GuptaThe a16z Show, 31 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem

1 more quote with Pro

Human accountability matters

Hiring and other consequential business decisions still need human involvement and responsibility.

I'm like, okay, show me a company that will close a 100k$1 million deal without any human involved, without any responsibility involved. I think it's not there yet.

Ruben HassidMarketing Against The Grain, 27 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem

Human relations

Emotions

What published surveys counted when they asked people in and around the field.

US employees (Gallup Panel)How often do you use AI in your role at work?
  1. Daily15%
  2. A few times a week or more30%
  3. A few times a year or more52%
Employees in 140+ countries and areas (Gallup World Poll)Engaged at work
  1. Engaged20%
Gallup, 2025 · 141,444 answered · Source
Managers worldwide (Gallup World Poll)Engaged at work
  1. Engaged22%
US employeesHow likely is it that your job will be eliminated in the next five years because of technological innovations such as automation or AI?
  1. Very or somewhat likely: all US employees18%
  2. Very or somewhat likely: employees where AI has been implemented23%
Leaders who use AI at work, in 10 countriesFeel safe suggesting new ways of working with AI
  1. Feel safe suggesting AI-driven ways of working81%
Microsoft Work Trend Index (survey by Edelman Data x Intelligence), 2026-04 · Source
Employees who use AI at work, in 10 countriesFeel safe suggesting new ways of working with AI
  1. Feel safe suggesting AI-driven ways of working67%
Microsoft Work Trend Index (survey by Edelman Data x Intelligence), 2026-04 · Source
Full-time knowledge workers who use AI at work, in 10 countriesShare who are Frontier Professionals (use agents for multi-step work, routinely redesign workflows, take part in shared AI practices)
  1. Frontier Professionals16%
Microsoft Work Trend Index (survey by Edelman Data x Intelligence), 2026-04 · 20,000 answered · Source
Full-time knowledge workers who use AI at work, in 10 countriesWhich human skills become more important as AI takes on more work?
  1. Quality control of AI output50%
  2. Critical thinking46%
Microsoft Work Trend Index (survey by Edelman Data x Intelligence), 2026-04 · Source
Recruiting leadersCurrently conducting interviews in person to combat candidate fraud
  1. Interviewing in person to combat fraud72.4%
US managers involved in hiring in the past 12 monthsHave suspected a candidate of using AI to misrepresent themselves during the hiring process
  1. Have suspected AI misrepresentation59%
Checkr, 2025 · 3,000 answered · Source
US workers (employed adults, part time or full time)How do you feel about the future use of AI in the workplace?
  1. Worried52%
  2. Hopeful36%
  3. Overwhelmed33%
Pew Research Center, 2024-10 · 5,273 answered · Source

Pulse

Pulse: what readers say

Readers who answered, not a representative sample.

Human relations

Direction

Several forecasts describe work shifting toward people directing AI agents, while HR platforms become systems for managing organizational capacity and work.

And the humans then take on a bigger role as managing the agents. And now that we're four years or more into the AI revolution, it's very clear that the agents are going to be like digital workers.

Josh BersinFounder and CEO, The Josh Bersin Company; global industry analystThe Josh Bersin Company, 21 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem

I think these systems are inevitably going to be capacity development and capacity management systems.

Josh BersinFounder and CEO, The Josh Bersin Company; global industry analystThe Josh Bersin Company, 16 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem

Human relations

Goals and visions

Forecasts and visions, with when they were said and when they can be checked.

  1. Open

    I think these systems are inevitably going to be capacity development and capacity management systems.

    Josh BersinFounder and CEO, The Josh Bersin Company; global industry analystThe Josh Bersin Company, 16 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem
  2. Open

    And the humans then take on a bigger role as managing the agents. And now that we're four years or more into the AI revolution, it's very clear that the agents are going to be like digital workers.

    Josh BersinFounder and CEO, The Josh Bersin Company; global industry analystThe Josh Bersin Company, 21 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem
  3. Openthree to five years from nowCheck on 28 Feb 2031

    The companies three to five years from now that are going to be the most successful are those companies that doubled down on entry-level hiring in this environment

    Nickle LaMoreauxChief Human Resources Officer, IBMInterview (reported by Fortune), Feb 2026Report a problem

48 more in the Pro forecast tracker

Human relations

Confusions

Common claims, and what the sources show instead.

Often said

AI at work is mainly a tool for cutting costs.

What the sources show

One cited position rejects cost cutting as the frame and instead treats AI projects as business projects.

First of all, you're not buying AI as a tool to cut costs. Just don't think that way.

Josh BersinFounder and CEO, The Josh Bersin Company; global industry analystThe Josh Bersin Company, 24 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem

Human relations

Ahead of the curve

What practitioners ahead of the curve say they do now.

  1. Create a trusting environment so people can share news with leadership.

    First and foremost, you've got to create an environment where there's real trust, because people are not going to share news if they don't trust the leadership.

    Kenneth ChenaultHBR IdeaCast, 27 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem
  2. Give each person a platform to contribute through their particular strengths.

    So if you have a deep writing staff, for me is a room where there's a variety of people who have different strengths.

    Chuck LorreThe Town with Matthew Belloni, 28 Oct 2026 · from an automatic transcriptReport a problem

Human relations

Topics and industries

Where this field meets other topics, careers and industries.

Week 44, 2026 · 61 people quoted

Human relations

Discussion

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