I recently came across an interesting post based on a study conducted by Harvard Business School that examined over 700 employees at Procter & Gamble. The findings point to a compelling insight — the study found that employees who use AI report more positive feelings at work (even when working alone).
When we talk about artificial intelligence and the changes it has brought to the labor market, we usually focus primarily on productivity — how integrating AI can shorten processes and optimize resources. And yes, the study did find a 37% improvement in productivity.
But what’s truly interesting is that the study found that employees who use artificial intelligence report feeling happier, with higher levels of enthusiasm and satisfaction, and experiencing less anxiety and frustration [🔗link to the full paper].
Think about it for a moment — work in organizations is sometimes challenging not just because of the tasks themselves, but also because of the interactions with colleagues and internal stakeholders. We sometimes encounter disagreements, professional disputes, a lack of consensus, or simply find ourselves stuck in a process that isn’t going anywhere.
Now I want you to imagine a familiar situation: you’ve just come out of a long meeting, or you’ve been spending the past two hours on a problem you can’t seem to solve. Instead of wasting more time and energy, you simply turn to ChatGPT, consult it about the issue, and immediately get straightforward answers — and, crucially, you don’t feel “stupid.” When you think about it, the chat is always available, attentive, and non-judgmental, and that has a real impact on our sense of happiness at work.
Don’t get me wrong — interpersonal interaction within a team is critical. A team needs to contain a diversity of perspectives and opinions. I personally need conversations with my teammates in order to think things through; those conversations get my wheels turning and usually lead us to create things together that I never could have reached on my own. I’m not suggesting we replace teamwork with a team of AI agents — I’m simply saying it can be a solution for those moments when you need to think something through on your own or take the pressure down a notch.
This is also a significant opportunity for those of us in human resources: to encourage people to use artificial intelligence precisely in non-trivial situations, and perhaps along the way to up-skill employees’ ability to use AI effectively, strengthen critical thinking and complex problem-solving, and even improve employee experience and organizational engagement metrics.
What ways are you using artificial intelligence that improve your own employee experience?
What Should Organizations Take Away from This?
If AI lowers emotional barriers and helps employees feel less alone when facing a problem, then its implementation should focus on the employee experience — not just on saving time. It’s worth building small, safe use cases that allow people to consult, draft, test ideas, and prepare for difficult conversations. That way, AI becomes a tool that builds capability, not just a tool that generates output.