AI-Driven Business Transformation Heightening Workplace Anxiety; How to Turn “Technostress” into “Technojoy”
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The latest global workplace survey from Gallup arrives at a moment when artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how work is done, yet leaving many of the fundamentals of work and workers unsettled. Titled “State of the Global Workplace Report: The Human Side of the AI Revolution,” the study draws on what Gallup describes as “the world’s largest ongoing study of the employee experience.” Its goal is to bring the voice of the employee to the decision-making table and to help leaders understand how employees feel about their work and their lives, an important predictor of organizational resilience and performance.
Engagement Slips, and the Costs Are Global
At the center of the report is a troubling decline in employee engagement. Global employee engagement has dropped to 20 percent from its peak in 2022 of 23 percent. This marks the first time global engagement has fallen for two consecutive years. Each percentage point represents approximately 21 million workers. Last year, low engagement cost the world economy about $10 trillion in lost productivity, or 9 percent of GDP. Engagement, defined as the psychological attachment workers feel toward their work and organization, has long been linked to productivity, profitability, and growth. Its decline signals dissatisfaction and weakens the conditions that enable organizations to perform.
The AI Productivity Paradox
The report highlights a paradox in the AI transition. On an individual level, workers see benefits. Among U.S. employees in organizations that have implemented AI, 65 percent report a positive impact on their productivity. Yet only 12 percent strongly agree that AI has fundamentally transformed how work gets done. Leaders see the same gap. While AI adoption is widespread, 89 percent report no measurable impact on labor productivity over the past three years. The promise of AI remains largely unrealized at the organizational level.
Managers: The Missing Link in AI Adoption
Employee perceptions of AI depend more on how the technology is introduced and supported than on the technology itself. Gallup finds that managers play an outsized role. Employees who strongly agree that their manager actively supports AI use are 98.7 times as likely to strongly agree that AI has transformed how work gets done. They are also 97.4 times as likely to strongly agree that AI gives them more opportunities to do what they do best every day. Yet fewer than a third of U.S. employees report such support, and the figure in Germany is just 21 percent. Strong managerial support is essential to successful AI adoption.
The Manager Engagement Collapse
The strain on managers is clear. Since 2022, manager engagement has dropped by nine points, with a steep decline between 2024 and 2025. Managers, once more engaged than the employees they led, are now only as engaged as those they supervise. Flatter organizations and larger team sizes contribute to the problem. The result is a thinning layer of support exactly when workers need guidance to navigate new tools and expectations.
A Surprising Rise in Wellbeing
Employee wellbeing has improved despite the engagement drop. In 2025, global employee wellbeing rose for the first time in three years. The percentage of workers who are thriving increased from 33 percent to 34 percent. The gain follows a period of decline after a 2022 peak. Reports of daily stress, anger, and sadness remain elevated compared with pre-pandemic levels.
The Engagement–Wellbeing Paradox
The gap between falling engagement and rising wellbeing challenges conventional assumptions. Engagement and wellbeing usually move together. Here, the two measures are decoupling. Wellbeing increases when employees see their work as intrinsically rewarding and good for others. Autonomy and choice also matter. In the AI era, workers are finding new efficiencies that reduce daily friction. Work is becoming easier, yet it may not feel more meaningful.
Readiness for Change in the Age of AI
Engagement serves as a form of readiness for change. Organizations with engaged employees navigate disruption more effectively. Declining engagement may undermine the productivity gains AI promises. Disengaged employees adopt new tools less effectively, and active disengagement could create serious security risks.
Technostress and the Human Cost of Digital Transformation
A parallel study by the UK-based digital transformation consultancy Adaptavist examines the human cost of these changes. Its report, “From Technostress to Technojoy: Understanding the Human Cost of Digital Transformation,” surveyed 4,000 knowledge workers in the United States, Britain, Canada, and Germany. Neal Riley, the firm’s innovation lead, defined technostress as the stress, anxiety, and mental fatigue caused by the constant use of and pressure to adapt to information and communication technologies in the workplace. It appears as notification overload, relentless context switching, difficulty keeping up with new tools, and fear of falling behind or being replaced.
Will AI Make Technostress Worse?
The survey shows a mix of optimism and unease. Almost three-quarters of respondents believe technology has advanced their careers. More than a quarter regularly experience digital overwhelm. Forty-three percent report stress or anxiety from notification overload and juggling platforms. Nearly two-thirds say technology has negatively affected their lives in the past year. Many describe a quiet disengagement born of context-switching, always-on expectations, and the fear that AI will make their expertise obsolete.
AI adds new tensions. Sixty percent of workers worry that critical institutional knowledge will vanish when colleagues leave. Thirty-five percent hesitate to share ideas for fear of replacement. Even as AI note-takers spread, 81 percent still rely on handwritten notes at least sometimes. One in 10 has attended or skipped a meeting where a colleague sent an AI proxy. Forty percent found the practice rude.
A Practical Roadmap to Technojoy
Adaptavist defines technojoy as the empowering and satisfying experience that occurs when workplace technologies and AI are effectively implemented, adopted, and supported. Technology then reduces drudgery, improves collaboration, and frees workers for creative, meaningful tasks. The report offers a practical roadmap. The solutions are cultural and practical rather than purely technological.
Organizations should build a culture where people feel safe asking for help. Nearly half the respondents ranked this among their top three priorities. Connect every tool to a strategy so employees understand the purpose behind it. Provide adequate training, resources, and time. Forty-three percent of workers said they would rather have better support than fewer tools. Establish healthy digital boundaries to address notification overload and after-hours pressure. Embrace joined-up, intuitive technology that reduces friction. Among workers who report high technojoy, 93 percent say their tools enable effective collaboration. Strike the right balance with AI through clear guidelines on knowledge sharing and etiquette.
The Place of Joy at Work
Companies have long recognized the business value of positive emotions at work. From Coca-Cola’s “Open Happiness” to Disneyland’s “The Happiest Place on Earth” and Amazon’s mantra “Work hard, have fun, make history,” the idea that delight can be engineered is familiar. Joy remains an aspirational word in most corporate lexicons.
Organizations must now act to assist their workforces in moving from technostress to technojoy. They need to invest in strong managerial support for AI, create cultural safety for learning, deliver thoughtful implementation with proper training and resources, and set deliberate digital boundaries. The data from both reports show that these steps would yield higher productivity and a workforce that views technology as a source of possibility rather than pressure. The shift is a practical goal that begins when leaders treat the human experience at work with the same seriousness they give the technology itself.
Sneak Preview: In next week’s Catalyst Podcast, Jamelia Hand, CEO of Vantage Clinical Consulting LLC., will discuss - among other pressing topics - AI in the Behavioral Health field. You won’t want to miss it!
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Free, Online Toolkit for Partnering with Communities in Substance Use Research. Chestnut Health Systems has released the final chapters of its free, online Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) toolkit, created to help researchers build meaningful partnerships through Community Boards of people with lived experience with substance use. This resource is informed by years of collaboration with individuals from the HEAL Connections Lived Experience Panel, the JEAP Initiative Community Boards, the CHEARR Community Boards, and the PATH Community Board.
We scour all four corners of the Internet to bring you the week’s most insightful, relevant, and actionable articles, studies, and reports.
Ketamine Infusions and Rapid Reduction of Suicidal and Depressive Symptoms in Major Depressive Episode: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. This systematic review and meta-analysis of 26 randomized clinical trials with 1166 patients with an MDE found that ketamine was efficacious in reducing suicidal and depressive symptoms rapidly, within hours. Source: JAMA
How to feel less lonely. Loneliness can become a vicious cycle, according to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Jeremy Nobel. The lonelier someone feels, the more the world may seem threatening, causing them to retreat even further from others. But there are ways to feel less lonely. Source: Harvard School of Public Health
How are nature and mental health linked? Nature boosts emotional well‑being: Time outdoors supports mood regulation through sunlight-driven vitamin D production and naturally soothing cues, like birdsong, that signal safety and reduce anxiety. Source: Health CHOK
Exploring how AI adoption in the workplace affects employees. Bibliometric review and analysis of AI’s effects on employee well-being, highlighting both positive and negative outcomes. Source: PMC (PubMed Central)
Study examines factors associated with co-occurrence of autism and epilepsy in children. Children with epilepsy have a higher risk of also having autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This new study in Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology examined factors associated with the co-occurrence of autism and epilepsy in a large population-based group. Source: News – Medical Life Sciences
Crossroads Podcast: How Much Does Faith Really Impact Mental Health? Citing an analysis of hundreds of previous studies, this report says that committed religious involvement — corresponding to at least weekly attendance at worship services — was linked to lower suicide risk, better stress management, reduced substance misuse, and higher levels of hope. Source: Religion Unplugged
Digital therapy apps improve mental health support for college students. College students with anxiety, depression, and eating disorders may be more likely to start and to respond more positively to therapy offered via a digital app compared to referrals to in-person campus clinics, according to a study led by Penn State researchers. Source: News – Medical Life Sciences
Opioid overdose survivors face elevated mortality risk within one year. After an emergency department visit for an opioid overdose, 9 per cent of individuals died and 21 per cent experienced a repeat opioid overdose in the following year, according to a new study from ICES and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Source: News – Medical Life Sciences
Artificial Intelligence in Health Care & Evolving Cancer Trends. The latest on how artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies are rolling out in health care and the strategies underway to guide safe and effective implementation. Source: NIHCM
Chronic Inflammatory Dermatoses Linked to Increased Mental Health Care Use. These study findings revealed that adults with atopic dermatitis (AD), hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), and psoriasis (PsO) had higher rates of psychiatric evaluation, psychotherapy, and psychiatric treatment compared with matched control patients, highlighting increased mental health care utilization in these populations. Source: Dermatology Advisor
Rural youth show higher firearm exposure, suicide risk, and mental health harms. Rutgers researchers find that rural youth experience higher rates of firearm exposure, handgun-carrying, and associated mental health risks. This study, published in Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, examined recent literature on rural youth firearm exposure and its association with health risk behaviors and outcomes, including violence and suicide. Source: Medical Xpress
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