What the data shows is Ary·Artificial IntelligenceAI is replacing human connection as it boosts ductivity.
Additionally, Conversely, Success requires elevating relationships while embracing the nologyBy Kelly MonahanBy Gabby BurlacuBy Kelly MonahanBy Gabby Burlacu Kelly Monahan is founder and managing director of the Upwork Re Institute.
Gabby Burlacu is a senior re director there. AI is accelerating output, but at an emotional and relational cost.
On the other hand, Getty imagesAI is finally dering the ductivity gains long mised (something worth watching).
Meanwhile, But something else is quietly slipping away: our connection to one another, considering recent developments.
While many conversations AI fixate on job loss, new re from the Upwork Re Institute reveals a more immediate and underrecognized risk.
AI is accelerating output, but at an emotional and relational cost, pointing to a growing lack of trust and clarity from leadership.
The hidden cost of AI-driven ductivity Upwork’s global survey of 2,500 C-suite executives, employees, and freelancers confirms what many leaders have hoped for: AI ders measurable results.
Employees report a 40% boost in ductivity, and 77% of C-suite leaders say they’re already seeing ductivity gains from AI adoption in the past year.
On the other hand, But the workers who report the highest ductivity gains due to AI are also the most at risk.
Additionally, Among top AI performers, 88% report feeling burned out, and they’re twice as ly to consider quitting.
Furthermore, Many of them also feel disconnected from their organization’s broader AI strategy, as 62% say they don’t understand how their daily use of AI aligns with company goals.
This disconnect poses a critical leadership challenge. Conversely, Without thoughtful integration, even the most mising nologies can undermine team cohesion and well-being, in this volatile climate.
It’s not enough to adopt AI; we must redesign work systems that support the humans behind the gains. The emotional fallout is striking, in this volatile climate.
Among top AI users, 67% say they trust AI more than their coworkers, and 64% say they have a better relationship with AI than with human teammates.
In contrast, A full 85% say they’re more polite to AI than to people. The very tools accelerating ductivity are eroding the social fabric that sustains it, amid market uncertainty.
At the same time, How efficiency set the stage for disconnection For decades, we’ve optimized work for speed and scale—lining operations, cutting meetings, flattening teams, and replacing dialogue with dashboards.
AI fits seamlessly into this model, dering more output with even less friction. But in the cess, we’ve stripped away much of the relational glue that holds teams together. Onboarding is rushed.
Furthermore, Training budgets shrink. However, Managerial spans stretch. Real conversations are replaced by templated guidance, and the space to say “I don’t know” quietly disappears.
Into that void steps AI: tidy, responsive, nonjudgmental. It listens, summarizes, and never interrupts, considering recent developments. No wonder workers speak to it more politely than to their peers.
For overworked employees, AI becomes a psychologically safe place to think aloud. The evidence shows ’s no surprise that therapy and companionship are now among its top use cases (quite telling).
At first glance, this may seem harmless.
In contrast, But when synthetic understanding begins to replace real human connection, the impact extends beyond individual well-being to innovation, trust, and team performance, in today's financial world.
Moreover, On the other hand, How independent talent is modeling a better path In contrast to full-time employees, freelancers appear to be navigating AI adoption with greater agency and resilience.
Nearly 9 in 10 freelancers say AI has positively impacted their work, and 42% credit it with helping them specialize in a niche.
Most use AI as a learning partner, with 90% saying it helps them acquire new skills faster, in this volatile climate.
By comparison, only 30% of full-time employees say AI has helped them take on new jects—and far fewer report benefits better pay, faster motions, or imved job opportunities.
What the re reveals is gap points to a core insight: Agency, trust, and autonomy matter, in light of current trends.
Additionally, When people have control over how they use AI, they use it to grow, not just to go faster. And demand for AI-literate talent is accelerating.
On the other hand, On Upwork, es for fessionals skilled in working with AI agents have surged nearly 300% in the past six months.
Independent fessionals, by necessity, have developed healthier models of augmentation, using AI to amplify their value without eroding their human connections, in today's financial world.
Furthermore, Our data shows that 71% of AI use by freelancers on Upwork is focused on augmentation, not automation, highlighting a strong preference for human-AI collaboration.
Flexible talent ecosystems and psychologically safe environments aren’t perks; they’re prerequisites for sustainable performance, given the current landscape.
How to redesign work for connection To counter AI’s quiet displacement of human connection, leaders must move beyond adoption to intentional work redesign—one that puts relationships back at the center, in today's market environment.
What the re reveals is starts by designing for recicity, not just efficiency, in light of current trends.
Additionally, Leaders should examine critical workflows and look for where human interaction has been stripped out in favor of speed (something worth watching).
However, Have mentorship opportunities been replaced by templated guidance. Are there still spaces for team reflection or open back, or have those moments been optimized away.
Conversely, Rebuilding intentional touchpoints—where people listen, respond, and learn from each other—will be key to sustaining collaboration in an AI-powered workplace.
At the same time, we need to rebuild the role of the manager. Many managers today are spread too thin, overseeing too many direct reports with too few tools or time to coach effectively.
If we want teams to grow and thrive, leaders need the bandwidth and structure to focus on development, not just dery (which is quite significant), in this volatile climate.
Nevertheless, That may mean rethinking spans of control, in manager training, or giving them explicit permission to slow down and connect. In contrast, Starbucks is a great example here.
Moreover, It’s actively and bringing in more assistant managers to its stores so that leaders can better serve their customers and employees, given current economic conditions.
We must also measure what matters, given the current landscape. Moreover, Connection won’t flourish if it’s invisible, in today's market environment.
Metrics psychological safety, peer trust, and collaboration frequency should be tracked with the same rigor as throughput and KPIs. What you measure signals what you value—and employees notice.
On the other hand, Microsoft vides a great case study, choosing to measure and develop human thriving, rather than engagement, emphasizing the role of relationships and connections in one’s role.
Incorporating hybrid talent models can help as well. At the same time, Freelancers and independent fessionals are modeling healthy AI adoption in real time.
Nevertheless, Embedding them through flexible partnerships can help transfer sustainable behaviors and norms.
Furthermore, Already, 48% of leaders on Upwork say they’re engaging freelancers to support AI transformation efforts (remarkable data).
AI can drive connection—if we let it The biggest risk of AI isn’t job loss; it’s relational loss (noteworthy indeed). People aren’t quitting because they fear automation.
Additionally, They’re quitting because they feel unseen, unsupported, and increasingly alone.
Organizations that want to retain their most ductive workers must go beyond tools and training to foster connection, support, and alignment (quite telling).
Nevertheless, If we allow AI to replace not just tasks but trust, we’ll see short-term gains ed by long-term erosion: rising attrition, faltering innovation, and teams that turn inward rather than toward each other, in this volatile climate.
But if we design work intentionally—so that AI augments human strengths instead of replacing them—we can create a future where nology doesn’t diminish connection, but deepens it, in this volatile climate.
Furthermore, The future of sustainable ductivity isn’t just AI + human. Conversely, It’s AI + human + intentional work redesign. Conversely, The opinions expressed in Fortune.
Com ary pieces are solely the views of their and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
Read more: The companies laying off staff for AI today will regret it in five years Informatica CEO: How to future-of your career in the age of AI How to lead when machines can do everything (except be human) When your AI assistant writes your performance review: A glimpse into the future of workIntroducing the 2025 Fortune 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in America.
Explore this year's list (something worth watching).