HR must combat poor workplace wellbeing with a ‘people-first, tech-second’ approach

Experts are connecting AI and automation to declining workplace wellbeing, suggesting increased demands for productivity are leading to higher rates of burnout and stress.

Indeed’s AI + Wellbeing Report suggests that the adoption of AI is having a counterproductive effect on employees, with 60 per cent of surveyed Australian workers finding it has indirectly contributed to increased workloads and pressures.

According to Lauren Anderson, a workplace expert at Indeed, this connection highlights “that the bigger challenge is not AI itself, but the growing demands being placed on employees”.

While AI itself is not the driver of a heavier workload, implementation that expects greater productivity without addressing the “people” factor is causing employees “to feel busier rather than better supported”, Anderson said.

She added: “Even where AI delivers individual productivity gains, those gains rarely flow through to the wider business, because the silos, approval chains, and layers of sign-off that shape how teams work together haven’t been redesigned to match.”

AI, she said, is simply exposing other operational deficiencies, often at the expense of wellbeing.

Wellbeing remains a significant feature of the workplace, with causes varying between declining workplace culture, team structure changes, and role uncertainty. The most predominant impactor, excessive workloads, also has the compounding effect of breaking down communication and fuelling further stress and disengagement.

The research also found that the life stage younger workers – particularly Millennials and Gen Z – are currently in is fuelling particularly low wellbeing among these employees, with typically lower earnings not keeping up with housing, study, and caregiving expenses. In addition, many are still building support networks while they balance these difficulties.

And according to Anderson, any particular technology literacy doesn’t count for much against these struggles.

She said: “Wellbeing is driven by the quality of the workplace experience. While younger workers have high digital confidence and adaptability, being comfortable with AI doesn’t necessarily translate to better wellbeing when they’re constantly feeling overwhelmed, disconnected or unclear about their future.”

AI “can’t compensate for poor leadership, weak workplace culture and unsustainable workloads. Creating healthier workplaces requires organisations to address these underlying issues first”.

In this way, the focus for employers and HR should be the appropriate and deliberate harnessing of AI capability that improves overall working conditions.

Specifically, Anderson recommended AI be used to “help identify trends across engagement surveys, highlight signs of increasing workloads, detect patterns in absenteeism or turnover, and surface insights that can support earlier interventions and more informed workplace planning”.

However, she noted that AI should not be used to make decisions in isolation. As is consistent with ongoing coverage of the benefits of AI and human judgement in conjunction, Anderson said: “The most effective organisations combine AI-generated insights with empathetic leadership and strong workplace policies.”

“Technology can identify where support may be needed, but people remain essential in delivering that support.”

In the same vein, positive workplace culture demands skills and leadership only humans can provide. AI can – for employer and employees – reduce repetitive, administrative work, but it also allows more time that can be spent fostering connection and establishing consistent leadership, and that is where the difference is made.

And there’s clearly work to do, with Indeed also finding that less than a quarter of Australian workers feel their employer cares about their wellbeing, and 89 per cent agree their mood at work follows them home.

Anderson reinforced the importance of the fundamentals, noting that “communal culture can only build once employees feel these core needs are being met”.

“Organisations that take a people-first approach to AI are more likely to create stronger connections, greater trust and a culture where people can do their best work over the long term,” she said.

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