Latest news with #JimHarter
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Your boss is probably using AI more than you
Leaders use AI around twice as much as individual contributors, a new Gallup Poll finds. Gallup data indicates AI adoption has risen, especially in white-collar roles, with tech leading at 50%. 16% of employees surveyed who use AI "strongly agree" that AI tools provided by their company are useful. There's a good chance your boss is using AI more than you. Leaders are adopting AI at nearly double the rate of individual contributors, a new Gallup poll released Monday indicates. The survey found that 33% of leaders, or those who identified as "managers of managers," use AI frequently, meaning a few times a week or more, compared to 16% of individual contributors. Gallup's chief scientist for workplace management and wellbeing, Jim Harter, told Business Insider that leaders are likely feeling added pressure to think about AI and how it can increase efficiency and effectiveness. "There's probably more leaders experimenting with it because they see the urgency and they see it as a competitive threat potentially," Harter said. The data point was one of several findings from Gallup's survey on AI adoption in the workplace, including: The number of US employees who use AI at work at least a few times a year has increased from 21% to 40% in the past two years Frequent AI use increased from 11% to 19% since 2023 Daily use of AI doubled in the past year from 4% to 8% 15% of employees surveyed said it was "very or somewhat likely that automation, robots, or AI" would eliminate their jobs in a five-year period 44% of employees said their company has started to integrate AI, but only 22% say their company shared a plan or strategy 30% of employees said their company has "general guidelines or formal policies" in place for using AI at work 16% of the employees who use AI "strongly agree" that AI tools provided by their company are helpful for their job While AI adoption has increased overall in the last two years, that increase isn't evenly distributed across industries. The Gallup report said that AI adoption "increased primarily for white-collar roles," with 27% surveyed now saying they use AI frequently on the job, a 12% increase from last year. Among white-collar workers, frequent AI is most common in the tech industry, at 50%, according to the survey, followed by professional services at 34%, and finance at 32%. Meanwhile, frequent AI use among production and front-line workers has dropped from 11% in 2023 to 9% this year, according to Gallup's polling. Concerns that AI will eliminate jobs have also not increased overall in the last two years, but the report indicated that employees in industries like technology, retail, and finance are more likely than others to believe AI will one day take their jobs. The most common challenge with AI adoption, according to those surveyed, is "unclear use case or value proposition," suggesting that companies may not providing clear guidance. The report said that when employees say they "strongly agree" that leadership has shared a clear plan for using AI, they're three times as likely to feel "very prepared to work with AI" and 2.6 times as likely to feel comfortable using it at work. "In some cases, you've got to have the training to be able to use AI as a complement with other text analytic tools that are more precise," Gallup's Harter told BI. Harter said that while organizations are increasingly developing plans around AI usage, "there's still a long way to go," and it may not be a one-and-done approach. "They're going to have to continue to be trained in how to use it because it's going to evolve itself," Harter said. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
15 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Your boss is probably using AI more than you
There's a good chance your boss is using AI more than you. Leaders are adopting AI at nearly double the rate of individual contributors, a new Gallup poll released Monday indicates. The survey found that 33% of leaders, or those who identified as "managers of managers," use AI frequently, meaning a few times a week or more, compared to 16% of individual contributors. Gallup's chief scientist for workplace management and wellbeing, Jim Harter, told Business Insider that leaders are likely feeling added pressure to think about AI and how it can increase efficiency and effectiveness. "There's probably more leaders experimenting with it because they see the urgency and they see it as a competitive threat potentially," Harter said. The data point was one of several findings from Gallup's survey on AI adoption in the workplace, including: The number of US employees who use AI at work at least a few times a year has increased from 21% to 40% in the past two years Frequent AI use increased from 11% to 19% since 2023 Daily use of AI doubled in the past year from 4% to 8% 15% of employees surveyed said it was "very or somewhat likely that automation, robots, or AI" would eliminate their jobs in a five-year period 44% of employees said their company has started to integrate AI, but only 22% say their company shared a plan or strategy 30% of employees said their company has "general guidelines or formal policies" in place for using AI at work 16% of the employees who use AI "strongly agree" that AI tools provided by their company are helpful for their job While AI adoption has increased overall in the last two years, that increase isn't evenly distributed across industries. The Gallup report said that AI adoption "increased primarily for white-collar roles," with 27% surveyed now saying they use AI frequently on the job, a 12% increase from last year. Among white-collar workers, frequent AI is most common in the tech industry, at 50%, according to the survey, followed by professional services at 34%, and finance at 32%. Meanwhile, frequent AI use among production and front-line workers has dropped from 11% in 2023 to 9% this year, according to Gallup's polling. Concerns that AI will eliminate jobs have also not increased overall in the last two years, but the report indicated that employees in industries like technology, retail, and finance are more likely than others to believe AI will one day take their jobs. The most common challenge with AI adoption, according to those surveyed, is "unclear use case or value proposition," suggesting that companies may not providing clear guidance. The report said that when employees say they "strongly agree" that leadership has shared a clear plan for using AI, they're three times as likely to feel "very prepared to work with AI" and 2.6 times as likely to feel comfortable using it at work. "In some cases, you've got to have the training to be able to use AI as a complement with other text analytic tools that are more precise," Gallup's Harter told BI. Harter said that while organizations are increasingly developing plans around AI usage, "there's still a long way to go," and it may not be a one-and-done approach. "They're going to have to continue to be trained in how to use it because it's going to evolve itself," Harter said.
Forbes
30-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Gallup's Jim Harter On The Global Engagement Decline Leaders Cannot Ignore
Global Employee Engagement Trend Following the release of Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2025 report, I sat down with Jim Harter, Gallup's Chief Scientist for Workplace Management and Wellbeing and a leading authority on engagement and wellbeing, to explore what the latest findings reveal about the future of leadership. When you sit down with Jim, you are not just reviewing numbers. You are interpreting what those numbers reveal and what they demand of leaders. Jim has a real knack for seeing what lies behind the numbers, the patterns and possibilities they point toward but do not always explicitly say. The urgency was clear. Global engagement dropped by two points, an estimated $438 billion in lost productivity. This marks only the second global drop in engagement Gallup has recorded, the first occurring in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 lockdowns. Two points may sound incremental. But as Jim pointed out, 'What it really signals is a growing detachment, a weakening of energy that organizations rely on, often without realizing it.' That loss is only part of the story. If the global workforce were fully engaged, Gallup estimates that $9.6 trillion in productivity would be added to the economy. That would represent a 9% increase in global GDP, the equivalent of adding an entire top-five economy to the world. The gap between where we are and where we could be is not theoretical. It is real, measurable and enormous. Especially now, when disruption is no longer a single event but a series of aftershocks reshaping work and life. When I asked Jim why CEOs should care about a two-point drop in engagement, he did not hesitate. 'Engagement is not abstract,' he said. 'It shapes whether employees go the extra mile, whether they notice problems and fix them, whether they feel accountable for quality and outcomes.' In a world where every advantage is fragile, disengagement creates invisible risks. Energy drains from teams long before it shows up in performance reports. CEOs who ignore this early warning sign may find their organizations falling behind in ways that are costly and hard to reverse. When I asked Jim what stood out most this year, he was clear and direct. 'It's the managers,' he said. 'They are more overwhelmed than we have ever seen before. And when managers lose their inspiration, it cascades downward.' Gallup's U.S. data shows for the first time that managers report more negative daily experiences than their teams. This is not a small internal issue. It is a system-level threat to culture, performance and resilience. 'The demands on managers have always been high,' Jim said. 'But now they are converging in ways we have not seen before. We are not just dealing with one crisis anymore. They accelerated, reshaping work and life in ways we are still absorbing.' That sense of cascading disruption, what Jim described as aftershocks, struck me. Because what we are seeing today is not only the lingering impact of COVID-19. It is the cumulative effect of a polycrisis, where economic volatility, geopolitical tensions, climate disruption, AI acceleration and social fragmentation collide, magnifying stress across every level of leadership. In my advisory work, I see the same convergence creating conditions where even highly capable managers lose sight of strategic priorities. When the volume of disruption outpaces clarity, managers retreat into operational survival mode and teams follow. Jim emphasized the path forward. 'We have to strip the role down to essentials, clear expectations, meaningful conversations and high accountability. Mastering those three shifts the entire trajectory.' Beyond engagement, Jim highlighted another critical trend, declining thriving. 'In Canada alone,' he pointed out, 'we have seen a 20-point drop in thriving over time. That is not just about work. It is about life experience overall.' Even among remote workers, who report higher engagement, wellbeing metrics lag and job-seeking intent rises. Flexibility without leadership connection creates fragmentation. It is not autonomy itself that sustains engagement. It is autonomy supported by trust, conversation and cultural clarity. Organizations that focus solely on flexibility as a retention tool risk missing the deeper human equation. As Jim noted, 'Thriving and engagement intertwine. Leaders must pay attention to both.' In my experience, when thriving is neglected, it does not show up immediately in turnover or satisfaction surveys. It shows up in discretionary effort, the silent withdrawal of energy that compounds over time. Our discussion naturally turned to AI and its implications for management. Jim framed it crisply. 'AI can replace certain tasks or it can become a companion that strengthens human leadership. Which path we take depends on how intentional organizations are.' Looking ahead, AI will likely raise the baseline for management. Even underperforming managers will sound better, deliver crisper feedback and run smoother check-ins. As Jim pointed out, AI has the potential to reduce variance among average managers by helping them sound more polished and organized in their interactions. But the real risk is a drift toward sameness, where leadership feels polished but hollow. Authenticity, nuance and human connection could quietly erode if AI is used as a shortcut rather than a companion. 'You cannot fake caring—at least not yet,' Jim said. 'In the near term, technology might polish interactions but it cannot replicate authenticity.' At the same time, truly talented managers will use AI differently, not to mimic connection but to deepen it, extending coaching, aligning development to strengths and making leadership more personal, not less. Whether AI amplifies sameness or amplifies authenticity will depend on how intentionally leaders approach it. The challenge ahead is not just about learning how to use AI effectively. It is about protecting the authenticity that makes leadership real. In a world where polished sameness becomes easier, genuine connection will become even more valuable and even harder to fake. Jim raised a key point that few are confronting directly. 'If AI is handling routine outputs, then leaders must redefine what productivity means.' Measuring activity, how many reports filed or how many emails sent, will become obsolete. Future differentiators will be: In one organization I supported, leadership redefined productivity as 'increasing the team's capacity for creative problem-solving.' The shift was subtle but transformational. Managers were coached not only on delivery but on how they built adaptive, resilient teams ready for what came next. Jim reinforced this point. 'Organizations must identify where human variance still matters. As AI shrinks output variance, leadership, culture and innovation will define competitive advantage.' This reframing is not theoretical. It is becoming operational necessity. Jim articulated a truth leaders cannot afford to overlook. 'If you do not define your culture now, you will inherit a culture you did not intend.' Culture is not a background project. It is the system through which resilience, performance and loyalty are either built or lost. The aftershocks of disruption will not subside on their own. If organizations wait for a 'return to normal,' they will find themselves building on unstable foundations. Culture is not what stabilizes after disruption. It is what equips organizations to navigate disruption and emerge stronger. As we closed, I asked Jim what he hopes to see in the State of the Global Workplace 2026. 'I hope we see a rebound in manager engagement,' he said. 'Because when managers thrive, teams thrive.' The opportunity is real. But it is conditional on leadership choices made now, not after disruption accelerates further. Leadership teams face a decision point: The aftershocks of the last five years have reshaped the world of work permanently. The next chapter of leadership will be written by those who build stability not from circumstances but from culture. The real leadership question is: Will your culture be something you intentionally built to endure or something you realize too late you cannot rebuild? Disclosure: My day job is focusing on leadership development and strategy research for Gallup.
Forbes
24-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Gallup: Why Managers Cost The Global Economy $438 Billion
Gallup reveals why managers are increasingly disengaged at work. The global workforce stands at a critical crossroads. In 2024, employee engagement fell to 21%, matching the drop during the pandemic. But this time, the cause isn't a global health crisis. According to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace: 2025 Report, the primary factor driving this disengagement is the group meant to inspire and guide teams—managers. As manager engagement declines, team performance, employee well-being, and global productivity inevitably deteriorate. Yet, executives have an opportunity to address these issues. The data not only highlights a concerning downward trend but also reveals clear actions that can revitalize workplaces and boost profitability. Let's examine the current workforce crisis and strategies to improve engagement and organizational performance. Gallup's latest research reveals that declining employee engagement cost the world economy a staggering $438 billion in lost productivity in 2024 alone. This marks only the second time in 12 years that global engagement has fallen, dropping from 23% to 21%. What makes this decline particularly alarming is its source. While engagement among individual contributors remained flat at 18%, manager engagement fell significantly from 30% to 27%. This isn't just a statistical blip. It's a warning sign of deeper organizational dysfunction that threatens business performance and economic growth. "Manager engagement affects team engagement, which affects productivity. Business performance—and ultimately GDP growth—is at risk if executive leaders do not address manager breakdown," warns Jim Harter, Gallup's chief workplace scientist. Gallup's research consistently shows that managers account for at least 70% of the variance in team engagement. When managers disengage, their teams inevitably follow suit. Yet, the decline hasn't affected all managers equally. Young managers under 35 saw their engagement drop by five percentage points, while female managers experienced an even steeper seven-point decline. These demographics, often representing the future leadership pipeline of organizations, are showing the most severe signs of burnout and disillusionment. The post-pandemic workplace has placed unprecedented demands on managers. They're expected to: Despite these escalating responsibilities, only 44% of managers globally report receiving any formal training for their role. Many are what are being called "accidental managers"—employees who slip into more senior roles for which they are unprepared, untrained, and, sometimes, even uninterested. Disengaged managers trigger a troubling cascade effect—disengaged teams, reduced productivity, higher turnover, and lower profitability. This extends beyond work to overall well-being, with global life satisfaction ("thriving") falling to 33%—its lowest point since 2021. The U.S. and Canada region has hit a record low, with only 52% of employees thriving. Emotionally, stress remains elevated, sadness is trending upward, and one in five employees report loneliness. Most concerning for retention--50% of global employees are seeking or looking for new opportunities, representing a potential talent exodus that could further destabilize organizations. Gallup's research points to three specific actions that can dramatically improve manager engagement and organizational performance: This fundamental step alone can cut extreme manager disengagement in half. Despite its proven effectiveness, manager development has declined globally in recent years. Providing even basic training on core management functions can significantly improve manager performance and team outcomes. Managers who receive training in coaching techniques see up to 22% higher engagement than non-participants. More importantly, teams led by these managers experience up to 18% higher engagement. This multiplier effect makes coaching skills one of the highest ROI investments for improving organizational performance. Studies show that management training can raise productivity by 17% in the first year alone through improved quality and efficiency. When employers provide training, manager well-being increases from 28% to 34%. But the real magic happens when you combine training with active development support—having someone who encourages their growth. This combination boosts manager well-being to 50%, creating a virtuous cycle where thriving managers lead thriving teams. Organizations that implement these strategies consistently achieve 70% or higher engagement levels—more than three times the global average. The economic impact is equally impressive, with these companies outperforming their peers by 23% in profitability. While Gallup's research confirms the value of manager training, not all development programs deliver equal results. The most effective approaches share several key characteristics: Organizations achieving the highest ROI on manager development typically implement structured programs lasting 6-12 months with regular touchpoints and clear performance expectations. Simply providing one-off training sessions without ongoing support rarely produces lasting engagement improvements. The $438 billion in lost productivity represents just the tip of the iceberg. When you factor in the costs of turnover, absenteeism, safety incidents, and quality defects associated with disengagement, the true economic impact is likely in the trillions. The good news is that this crisis is solvable. "It's time to rethink the role of the manager," Gallup concludes in its report. This means redefining expectations, providing adequate resources, and creating support systems that enable managers to succeed. In a world where only one in five employees is engaged, creating an environment where managers can thrive isn't just good leadership—it's good business.
Business Insider
23-04-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Managers aren't feeling so hot right now. It's costing them their sanity and the global economy billions.
It's a tough time to be a manager, and a new report shows many of them are feeling the pressure right about now. Global employee engagement in 2024 fell, driven largely by a decrease in managers' engagement at work, according to Gallup's 2025 State of the Global Workplace report published Wednesday. "Managers have a lot of things coming at them, and I think we really have to think about what managers are mainly responsible for," Jim Harter, Gallup's chief scientist for workplace management and wellbeing, told Business Insider. Around the world, employee engagement fell from 23% to 21% last year, costing the global economy approximately $438 billion in lost productivity, the report estimates. It's only fallen twice in the last 12 years, the other time being in 2020. While individual contributors saw their engagement stay the same at 18%, manager engagement dropped from 30% to 27%. "If you go to the micro level, to the team level, managers with higher engagement have higher team engagement. Managers with lower engagement have lower," said Harter. "So the role of the manager is just critical to getting this right." Breaking out specific groups, managers under 35 and female managers saw a 5% and a 7% drop in engagement, respectively. The report drew from data from 227,347 employed respondents ages 15 and up, with responses collected from April 2024 to December 2024. For engagement specifically, respondents were asked to give their level of agreement on a scale of 1 to 5 regarding 12 statements on topics like support, professional development, company mission, and purpose at work. Based on their responses, they were determined to be engaged, not engaged, or actively disengaged. Managers are naturally in a delicate position, juggling senior leaders' demands from one direction and their direct reports' desires from another. But the last few years have also introduced new responsibilities for many managers in addition to their traditional duties, as the report notes. Think supply chain disruptions, a job market roller coaster, the introduction of AI tools, and growing employee desires for flexibility following pandemic-era remote work. "The new demands coupled with the old demands of the manager's job have caused kind of an overwhelming feeling for a lot of managers," said Harter. So what can be done about manager engagement, and as a result broader employee engagement? Gallup's report highlights upskilling and training. Employers should provide basic role training for new managers; only 44% of managers globally say they've gotten management training, according to the report. Managers new and old would also benefit from ongoing coaching in management best practices and having someone at work who actively encourages their development, the report noted. Harter also recommends managers set clear expectations with employees, have regular check-ins ideally once a week, and have a system in which each person "knows how well they're doing in terms of how they perform individually, how they collaborate with their team, and then how they bring value to the customers that the organization is serving." "I think performance management and employee engagement and wellbeing all can fit together if we really help managers," Harter said. "Managers can get better if they have the right kind of ongoing training and learning that goes with the role."
