5 free resources on this topic. Everything here is free and hand-picked. You can also search within this topic.
SHRM's annual look at the challenges employers and HR teams expect in 2026, including workload pressure, skills gaps and shifting employee expectations.
IBM Institute for Business Value survey of 1,500 chief HR officers and 8,800 employees worldwide, published 21 September 2026. 71% of CHROs call the ability to supervise, validate and override AI outputs the workforce's most essential skill, while only 29% of employees rank judgment as important. 60% of employees worry AI is eroding their skills, naming critical thinking most often; three in four of those say the erosion has already begun. CHROs name critical thinking (57%) and human judgment (48%) among the most important capabilities. 46% of organisations leave the CHRO out of AI strategy entirely.
Why I recommend it: The one number to take into an interview or a performance review: employers say the skill they now value most is checking and overruling the machine, and most employees have not caught up. That gap is your opening — say out loud that you review AI output rather than forward it. Read the rest carefully. This is IBM's own survey, run by IBM's consulting arm, and IBM sells the AI systems and the workforce redesign advice the study concludes you need; the free press release gives the figures, while the full report asks for your details. The 18% risk reduction and 20% quality improvement are self-reported by the companies surveyed, not measured by anyone independent, and 'employees worry their skills are eroding' is how people feel, not a test of whether their skills actually declined.
Darrell M. West argues that AI agents and robots in the workplace will reshape jobs, HR functions and the social contract with workers. Free to read.
From the site: Darrell M. West explains how AI agents and robots are reshaping jobs, HR departments, and society's social contract with workers.
Why I recommend it: A useful piece for thinking about how AI changes the job itself, not just whether the job exists. It is an argument, not data.
Free workplace data showing that as AI use rises, more time is going into troubleshooting AI output than into productivity gains.
Why I recommend it: Good counterweight to AI hype in job interviews and internal pitches.
Lance Haun on how rigid job architecture and title structures break down for modern roles, and what that means for workers and employers.
Why I recommend it: Read this if you have ever been told your work does not fit any existing title. It explains a system problem people usually blame themselves for.
