Here’s a warning signal we can’t ignore: the employees getting the biggest productivity gains from AI are also twice as likely to quit.
These aren’t people being displaced by automation. They’re top performers who’ve figured out how to leverage AI effectively. The most marketable talent. The ones you want to keep. And according to research from Upwork, they’re reporting 88% higher burnout rates and saying they’d rather chat with ChatGPT than their colleagues.
As workplace researcher Brian Elliott put it in his recent analysis, “This is one of the biggest warning signals I’ve ever seen.” The problem isn’t the technology—it’s that we’re using AI to ratchet up demands rather than reimagine how work actually works.
Two paths diverging
The question isn’t whether AI will reshape work. It’s whether leaders will use it to lift people up or grind them down.
That distinction matters more than ever. Elliott and Sophie Wade’s recent MIT Sloan Management Review piece highlights what’s at stake: organizations are swinging back to command-and-control leadership despite clear evidence that human-centered approaches outperform. Walmart’s CEO talks about creating as many jobs as AI eliminates while investing in upskilling. Meanwhile, other firms announce mass layoffs of people they deem “unskillable.”
The difference? Leadership vision.
At Forshay, we’ve been tracking what this looks like in practice—through executive placements, leadership development work, and conversations with founders navigating this inflection point. What we’re seeing suggests there are real alternatives to the “do more with less” trap.
What actually enables focus
Consider the fractional executive model. It’s often dismissed as a temporary fix, but that misses what’s actually happening. After working with both growth companies and large corporations, we’re seeing how fractional leadership delivers something full-time executives often can’t: intense focus on high-priority initiatives without the distractions that come with organizational politics.
A VP of People working on an interim basis brings deep expertise to critical moments—building key capabilities for the company, designing compensation structures that scale, creating interview processes that assess for what matters, syncing up how AI works across people systems. They deliver impact without adding to headcount or getting pulled into the internal maneuvering that is required by internal leaders.
It’s not about “doing more with less.” It’s about strategic expertise applied where it matters most. People-centric organizations are seven times more likely to be further along in AI adoption, according to recent research. The connection isn’t accidental—these organizations are building capability, not just filling seats.
The pruning principle
There’s a flip side to this that matters just as much: growth requires subtraction, not just addition.
Working with executives preparing companies for IPOs, we consistently see the same pattern. The leaders who successfully scale aren’t the ones adding more initiatives—they’re the ones with the discipline to identify what’s not working and cut it. The courage to say no to opportunities that don’t align with core strengths. The willingness to redesign roles around where people actually create value rather than historical job descriptions.
In a moment when companies are demanding more output from the same people, this seems counterintuitive. But Elliott’s data on middle managers tells the story: 1.6 times more direct reports, squeezed from both directions, 59% reporting significant burnout. The systems we’ve built to “optimize” work are actually breaking people.
What if the question isn’t “how do we get more from our people?” but “what do we need to remove so they can focus on work that actually matters?”
Research in progress
This inflection point demands better questions, not rushing to fast answers. We’re past productivity hacks or efficiency tips, but deeper interested in the genuine understanding of what enables extraordinary work. The underlying conditions that make it possible. The patterns that show up across different industries, roles, and career stages.
That’s the territory we’re exploring through Forshay’s new podcast, Experiments In, launching soon with co-host Amanda Richardson, CEO of CoderPad. Each episode will features insights from moments of profound professional impact across industries, unpacking what actually enabled that work.
This isn’t just content—it’s active research into the alternative path. The one where AI amplifies human capability rather than replacing human connection. Where leadership creates conditions for focus rather than manufactured urgency. Where organizations become what Harvard’s Amy Edmondson calls “islands of sanity”—safe havens where people can connect, be known, and achieve something meaningful together.
As Elliott notes in his analysis, we’re at a breaking point. The next few years will determine whether work becomes more human or less. Whether AI enables the best work of people’s lives or drives them to prefer chatbots over colleagues.
Join the research
The science is clear: companies that invest in learning-based cultures, psychological safety, and flexible team structures aren’t sacrificing performance—they’re building the foundation for sustainable innovation. Leaders who combine high standards with genuine support outperform those who rely on command-and-control. Organizations that measure team outcomes rather than individual heroics create the conditions where real value gets created.
But knowing what works and actually implementing it are different challenges. Especially when market pressures push toward short-term efficiency gains over long-term capability building.
We’re figuring out this path forward alongside the founders, executives, and boards we work with. If you’re wrestling with how to build leadership capacity without burning people out, how to leverage AI without losing what makes your culture strong, or how to prepare for growth while maintaining the focus that got you here—let’s compare notes.
We’re figuring out the path forward together—because the answer to “how do people do their best work?” is energizing. Join us!
Want to explore how to navigate this moment? Whether fractional leadership, strategic hiring, or team performance consulting…let’s talk.
