Artificial intelligence (AI) will only succeed in the workplace if organisations prioritise people over platforms, according to employers, policymakers and wellbeing experts gathered in UK’s Parliament this week.
At a roundtable of the Policy Liaison Group on Workplace Wellbeing earlier this week (19 January), participants argued that the real determinant of AI’s impact at work will not be the sophistication of the technology, but the strength of organisational culture and the support given to employees navigating change. Wellbeing, trust and culture must come before technology if AI is to boost productivity rather than deepen anxiety at work, employers and experts warned.
Among those taking part in the discussion was Sonia Kumar MP, Labour MP for Dudley, who joined a cross-sector discussion spanning technology, governance and workforce wellbeing. The message was clear: wellbeing, trust and culture are not “nice-to-haves” but core infrastructure if AI is to deliver sustainable productivity gains rather than fear, disengagement and stalled adoption.
PRODUCTIVITY GAINS
The discussion centred on a question increasingly preoccupying employers – does AI represent a net opportunity or a net risk for the workplace? Evidence shared at the roundtable suggested the answer depends less on algorithms and more on organisational behaviour.
Companies with strong, people-centred cultures are far more likely to implement AI successfully, participants heard. In contrast, where trust is low, training is superficial or wellbeing is treated as an afterthought, AI adoption tends to amplify stress and resistance rather than performance.
The group stressed that productivity gains are ultimately realised through people, not systems. AI may promise efficiency, but without psychological safety and meaningful engagement it risks becoming another layer of friction in already pressured workplaces.
REGULATION VERSUS RESPONSIBILITY
Participants also cautioned against responses that could choke innovation through excessive or poorly targeted regulation. Instead, they emphasised the role of robust corporate governance in ensuring employers strike a balance between profit and people – a balance many believe is critical to addressing the UK’s long-standing productivity challenges.
Organisations were urged to foster cultures where employees can safely experiment with new tools, learn by doing and remove unnecessary drudgery from everyday work. Done well, AI can increase autonomy and free up cognitive capacity for higher-value tasks, as reported.
AI is already being deployed to support wellbeing directly, including tools that help employees manage financial stress or access support discreetly and at scale. Used responsibly, participants argued, such applications can strengthen mental fitness rather than undermine it. But trust, transparency and clear guardrails were repeatedly identified as non-negotiable conditions.
EMBEDDING WELLBEING & TRUST AT WORK
The roundtable concluded with a warning – treating wellbeing as an add-on risks undermining the very productivity gains AI is meant to deliver.
Unlike previous workplace technologies, AI systems evolve rapidly and place new cognitive and emotional demands on employees. Minimal training approaches were described as both unrealistic and counterproductive. While participants broadly agreed that AI is currently more about augmenting human work than replacing it, they were clear that some roles will be disrupted – in some cases severely – over time.
That reality makes early planning for reskilling essential, alongside investment in leadership capability so managers can support people as jobs change. Embedding wellbeing, trust and psychological safety from the outset was seen as the only credible way to ensure AI improves job quality and performance rather than accelerating burnout and disengagement.
AI HYPE & FEAR
Gethin Nadin, Chair of the Policy Liaison Group on Workplace Wellbeing, said the public debate on AI had become dangerously polarised. “The debate about AI too often swings between hype and fear. What’s missing is a focus on how technology actually interacts with human wellbeing at work,” noted Nadin. “The evidence is increasingly clear that wellbeing is not an add-on to AI adoption, it is a precondition for success. High-performing organisations with strong, people-centred cultures are far more likely to implement AI effectively, where its integration relies on trust, engagement and support.”
Simon Greenman, Partner and Head of AI at Best Practice AI, described workplace AI as an unprecedented challenge for employees. “This is probably the most complex software ever introduced into the workplace, and there is no manual for it. Expecting people to master AI with minimal training leaves employees feeling overwhelmed, nervous and disengaged,” shared Greenman. “In the near term, this is much more about augmentation than automation, but success depends on whether organisations create the trust, support and psychological safety people need to engage with it confidently.”
TRANSPARENCY & TRUST MATTERS
Francesca Tabor of the AI Growth Hub warned that poorly governed use of AI could actively damage trust. “Employers need to train their staff to use AI and give them confidence to engage with it. That means being transparent about how decisions are made and keeping humans firmly in the loop,” explained Tabor. “If AI tools are introduced to support staff, they should not be used to monitor mental health or performance in ways that undermine trust. When people disengage and ‘take their brain out of the loop’, both wellbeing and outcomes suffer.”
As AI accelerates across workplaces, the roundtable’s conclusion was stark: organisations that ignore wellbeing risk not only harming employees, but sabotaging their own ambitions. In the race to adopt artificial intelligence, culture – not code – may prove the decisive factor.
HOW TO EMBED WELLBEING IN AI ADOPTION
So how organisations embed wellbeing at the heart of AI adoption in a responsible way? Research from several bodies on organisational psychology, human–computer interaction and change management, increasingly align on one point: AI adoption succeeds when it is treated as a people transformation, not an IT rollout. Experts at the roundtable echoed several evidence-based principles that organisations can act on now.
1. Start with job design, not tools
Rather than asking what AI can replace, organisations should begin by mapping where work is cognitively demanding, repetitive or emotionally draining. Research consistently shows that AI delivers the greatest benefits when it removes friction and low-value tasks while preserving human judgement, autonomy and social connection. In practice, this means redesigning roles so AI supports decision-making rather than displacing responsibility.
2. Invest in training that builds confidence, not compliance
Minimal or one-off training has been shown to increase anxiety and resistance to new technologies. Effective organisations provide ongoing, role-specific learning that allows employees to experiment safely, make mistakes and learn by doing. This includes explaining why AI is being introduced, not just how to use it, and being honest about its limitations as well as its capabilities.
3. Make transparency a cultural norm
Trust is one of the strongest predictors of successful AI adoption. Clear communication about how AI systems work, what data they use and how decisions are made helps reduce fear and speculation. Keeping humans “in the loop” for consequential decisions – particularly those affecting performance, pay or wellbeing – is critical to maintaining psychological safety and engagement.
4. Separate wellbeing support from surveillance
While AI can be used to expand access to wellbeing and financial support, evidence shows that trust collapses when employees feel monitored or assessed through wellbeing data. Organisations should draw clear ethical boundaries between support tools and performance management, and involve employee representatives when setting these guardrails.
5. Equip leaders for the human impact of AI
Line managers play a decisive role in how AI is experienced day to day. Research shows that leaders who can discuss uncertainty openly, respond to emotional reactions and model healthy technology use significantly reduce burnout during periods of change. Leadership development should therefore focus as much on empathy and communication as on technical literacy.
6. Plan early for reskilling and transition
Even where AI is primarily augmentative today, credible evidence suggests that some roles will change substantially over time. Organisations that acknowledge this early and invest in reskilling pathways reduce fear and improve retention. Framing AI as a shared journey – rather than a hidden agenda – strengthens trust and long-term adaptability.
WELLBEING & TRUST: STRATEGIC ASSETS
As artificial intelligence reshapes work at speed, the evidence is increasingly unequivocal – organisations that treat wellbeing, trust and culture as strategic assets will be best placed to realise AI’s benefits. Those that do not risk discovering that the greatest barrier to productivity was never the technology at all, but how people were asked to live with it.
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