A real concern Lincoln leaders raise
AI is producing more — and our team is more burned out
When AI lets people produce more, and "more" quietly becomes the new baseline, you haven't created transformation. You've created faster burnout layered on top of an already strained workforce.
Text Rosey · Schedule a call →Common questions from Lincoln leaders
- Is this real, or is it just normal change resistance?
- Real. Gartner's 2024 research found 73% of HR leaders report employees experiencing change fatigue. The exhaustion vs. resistance distinction matters: resistance gets managed; exhaustion gets supported.
- How does AI specifically create this?
- Through a quiet expectation shift. AI lets one person produce what used to take two — and then 'two-people output' becomes the new baseline expectation, with one person delivering it.
- Isn't that just productivity?
- Productivity is when output and well-being both improve. What we're describing is output up, well-being down — which has a different name.
- What about staff using AI to look busy?
- Gartner names this exact pattern in their 2026 CHRO research: employees may 'perform change without truly adopting it.' The fix is on the leadership side — change what's being measured.
- Our team's already at capacity. Should we wait on AI rollout?
- No, but rebalance what else is in flight. Gartner found organizations that adapt change plans based on employee feedback are 4x more likely to achieve change success.
- What about senior leaders — are they getting more value from AI?
- On average, yes. SHRM 2026 found 73% of directors and above report creativity improvements vs. 65% of individual contributors.
Sources
- 73% of HR leaders report their employees are fatigued from change — Gartner Survey Finds Leader and Manager Development Tops HR Leaders' List of 2025 Priorities for Third Consecutive Year, Gartner, 2024
- 74% of HR leaders say their managers are not equipped to lead change — Gartner Survey Finds Leader and Manager Development Tops HR Leaders' List of 2025 Priorities for Third Consecutive Year, Gartner, 2024
- Employees may 'perform' change outwardly without genuinely adopting it — Gartner Identifies the Top Change Management Trends for CHROs in the Age of AI, Gartner, 2026
- Organizations that continuously or regularly adapt change plans based on employee responses are 4x more likely to achieve change success — Gartner Identifies the Top Change Management Trends for CHROs in the Age of AI, Gartner, 2026
- 73% of directors and above report creativity improvements from AI vs. 65% of individual contributors — The State of AI in HR 2026, SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), 2026
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