A Workera report released Sept. 23 found 67.8% of surveyed employees now use AI tools beyond ChatGPT several days a week, up from about 40% a year earlier. Yet the same survey found 56.4% of employees say they have no time set aside for upskilling, and many lack materials or ways to measure their skills. The survey polled 1,000 salaried US employees at companies with 5,000+ staff in July 2026, compared against a March 2025 baseline.
zdnet.com
· 2026-09-23
A leadership commentary piece describes the author's personal experience of feeling defensive ego when an AI system's recommendation contradicted their own judgment. The author uses this anecdote to argue that traditional leadership habits are becoming obsolete as AI systems increasingly generate ideas that rival or surpass those of human leaders.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-23
A new workplace advice piece examines how some professionals appear competent or engaged in meetings without substantively contributing, and offers cues for spotting this behavior. It cites an estimate that the average American professional spends more than 14 years of their working career in meetings, underscoring how central meetings are to office life.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-23
A workplace analysis argues that organizations often lean on high-performing employees to compensate for unclear responsibilities and broken processes. Because these employees consistently step up and deliver, leaders increasingly pile more work onto them rather than fixing underlying structural issues.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-23
An Entrepreneur contributor describes a client who, as the only person of color on her executive team, started monthly breakfasts open to employees across all levels and departments rather than pursuing typical networking events like golf or drinks. Over two years these gatherings evolved into an informal communication channel that helped colleagues share information and solve problems, and the executive was later promoted to vice president.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-09-22
Analysis of over a decade of workplace survey data finds that although employees still privately identify as optimists, they are increasingly reluctant to express that optimism openly at work. The trend signals a shift in workplace culture where positive outlooks are being suppressed rather than shared with colleagues.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-22
A WIRED writer used Google's Gemini platform to create AI chatbots modeled on two of her editors, Brian Barrett and Sophie Kleeman, hoping the clones would help her draft better work and understand her bosses' preferences. The experiment, done with the editors' reluctant permission, quickly produced awkward and unexpected results as the bots misjudged tone and expectations.
wired.com
· 2026-09-22
A longtime WIRED writer and editor published a personal essay recounting a 17-year career marked by repeated instances of sexism, including being paid less than a male predecessor, having her parenting fitness questioned by bosses, and working at a publication where men appeared on 70 covers versus four for women. She traces her discomfort with some men in the industry back to her early days interning at WIRED in 2009, when the newsroom lacked female editors and reinforced narratives crediting men as the primary innovators in tech.
wired.com
· 2026-09-21
Darrell West of the Brookings Institution argues companies will need a new HR-like function, which he calls 'Robot Relations,' to handle worker grievances involving AI agents, chatbots and cobots. He says today's HR systems, built for disputes between human colleagues, are not designed to manage friction between employees and the AI tools increasingly embedded in daily work.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-20
Australia's public service minister Katy Gallagher announced the government is exploring a ban on Meta's AI-enabled smart glasses in federal government buildings, citing privacy and security risks tied to their recording capabilities. Officials plan to consult the public service commission and hold a roundtable with major employers like Microsoft and Commonwealth Bank to develop broader AI workplace guidelines.
futurism.com
· 2026-09-20
A workplace productivity tip argues that opening chat messages with greetings like 'hi, you around?' before stating the actual request wastes time. Because typing is slower than speaking, making a colleague wait through a greeting exchange before hearing the real question delays responses unnecessarily. The advice: state the question or request immediately in the first message.
nohello.net
· 2026-09-17
A political scientist at Washington University in St. Louis found that just 13% of Gen Z respondents believe most people can be trusted, while 74% agreed that 'you can't be too careful' when dealing with others. Researchers attribute this low trust to formative experiences shaping the youngest members of today's workforce.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-17
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