Human Resources
Why Human Connection Is Your Ultimate AI-Era Advantage
The $154B cost of workplace isolation is a leadership wake-up call. Here’s how to fix it.
Carrie Varoquiers
Chief Impact Officer
Workday
There is a subtle but profound shift happening in our offices, both physical and virtual: the rapid erosion of human connection. Five years ago, if a junior employee hit a roadblock, they would swivel their chair or send a quick ping to ask a veteran colleague for advice. That interaction, however brief, was a micro-investment in a relationship. Today, that same employee is more likely to ask ChatGPT.
Not that long ago, we gathered in conference rooms with whiteboards to brainstorm creative campaigns. It was messy and sometimes inefficient, but it forged shared ownership of an idea. Today, we simply ask AI to "generate 10 innovative marketing hooks," bypassing the collective struggle of creativity entirely.
We are witnessing a new kind of talent challenge. We have all read the headlines about the loneliness epidemic and the business costs of social isolation. But now we have to wonder: Could AI act as an accelerant, scaling up our disconnection at lightning speed if we don’t pay attention? By engineering the friction out of our workflows, are we inadvertently engineering the human interactions out of our days?
Colleague isolation is not a trend that will pass without thoughtful and intentional choices—AI is now the cornerstone of business processes, and it is too beneficial to business growth to fade away.
We are trading camaraderie for convenience, and the bill is coming due.
Drawing on my 25 years in philanthropy and social impact, I am convinced this workplace disconnection is a symptom of a bigger foundational issue of our time: the erosion of human connection. We are trading camaraderie for convenience, and the bill is coming due.
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The Cost of the Efficiency Trap
Disconnection has fully permeated the workplace. The percentage of professionals reporting that they feel "isolated and alone" has nearly doubled since last year. This isn't just a morale issue; it is a profit and loss (P&L) issue. Loneliness-related absenteeism and lost productivity now cost U.S. employers over $154 billion annually.
Perhaps most telling is how our relationship with AI tools is evolving. Harvard Business Review research indicates that the top use for generative AI shifted from "generating ideas" in 2024 to "therapy/companionship" in 2025. Employees are turning to algorithms not just for productivity, but for the validation they used to get from their peers.
Our research has uncovered a dangerous blind spot regarding this shift: There is a 17-point perception gap between employees and their managers. While 82% of individual contributors believe the need for human connection will grow in the AI era, only 65% of managers agree. This gap suggests that while employees feel the chill of isolation, leadership is distracted by the heat of productivity gains. Leaders might be missing the reality that as AI automates tasks, uniquely human skills—ethical judgment, relationship building, and empathy—are becoming more, not less, vital.
Designing for Connection
We cannot simply wish for more connection. We can’t expect "watercooler moments" to magically reappear in a world of remote work and AI assistants. In this new world of work, business leaders must treat human connection as a strategic priority, not a "soft" perk.
In my role leading the Workday Foundation, I have seen that connection can be thoughtfully designed. Through our Upstream Grant Fund, we have invested millions in nonprofits specifically focused on rebuilding human connection and social trust. We must apply that same intentional design within our companies.
In this new world of work, business leaders must treat human connection as a strategic priority, not a "soft" perk.
Here is how leaders can encourage IRL time and rebuild trust:
1. Reinvest the AI Surplus Into Human Collaboration
The promise of AI is time savings. Our research shows that 93% of active AI users feel the technology frees them up for higher-level responsibilities. The danger is that we simply fill that saved time with more solitary screen time. Additional research confirms that this risk is real: 56% of enthusiastic AI users who are also feeling overburdened admit they’re using technology to simply take on more tasks, rather than shifting to higher-value work.
Leaders must explicitly encourage that the time saved by AI be reinvested into human collaboration, team upskilling, and group fun. If AI cuts a 10-hour process down to two hours, the remaining eight shouldn't be filled with other online solo work. It should be used for things like on-site creative brainstorming, customer site visits, team skills-building exercises, mentorship circles, or team strategy sessions—activities that require presence and emotional intelligence.
2. Turn Internal Mobility Into a Social Engine
A promotion recession is a failure of connection. When employees feel stuck, they disengage. We can use AI to help solve this—not by replacing people but by finding them.
At Workday, our Gigs program uses AI to match skilled employees with short-term projects outside their daily roles. This one initiative cut attrition by 33% and boosted internal mobility by 42%. But the real magic isn't the algorithm; it’s the human result. It forces people to cross departmental lines and forge new relationships they otherwise never would have made.
3. Build Trust Through Transparency
We are living in a historic deficit of trust, where only 34% of Americans believe "most people can be trusted." This cynicism mirrors what many feel toward their employers. If employees suspect AI is being adopted to replace them, they will hoard knowledge and withdraw further.
If leadership knows that AI is likely to replace specific roles, they should be transparent about what is coming and offer reskilling opportunities to those who might be impacted. Leaders must be open about how AI is being used and explicitly connect it to employee growth and learning, not just cost-cutting.
The Human Advantage
The future of work will not be defined by the sophistication of our algorithms alone but by our ability to strengthen the bonds that drive resilience and innovation.
We must stop viewing human connection as an inefficiency to be solved. If we can use AI to handle the rote work, we can clear the stage for what humans do best: innovating, trusting, debating, caring, and creating together.
This article was originally published on Forbes.
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62% of leaders welcome AI, but only 55% of employees feel the same way. Closing this AI trust gap and ensuring that your organization is prepared for widespread AI implementation will prove decisive to your company's future success.