State of the Global Workplace 2026: AI Isn’t the Problem. Your People Just Aren't Ready Yet.

Read the Full Report Here

Let me save you a few hours and give you the part that matters.

Companies have spent billions on AI. Most of them are not seeing results.

Not small results. No results.

Almost 90% of leaders say AI has not improved productivity in their organization. Only 12% of employees say it has actually changed how work gets done.

That’s not a technology issue. That’s a people issue.

What This Means for Small Businesses and Nonprofits

If you’re running a smaller organization, this should actually give you confidence.

You are not behind.

The reality is that most organizations are still figuring this out. The difference is that larger companies can afford to waste money on tools that don’t get used. Smaller organizations cannot.

So you have to get this right.

The report makes one thing very clear. AI works when people use it well. And people use it well when they feel supported, clear, and confident.

Right now, most don’t.

80% of Employees Are Not Engaged!

Only about 20% of employees globally are engaged at work. That means 4 out of 5 people are either checked out or just going through the motions.

Now layer AI on top of that.

If someone is already disengaged, they are not going to experiment with a new tool. They are not going to rethink how they work. They are not going to take risks.

They are going to ignore it. That is what is happening in most organizations right now.

Managers Are the Difference

This next stat seems made up but its not....

Employees are almost 100 times more likely to see value in AI when their manager actively supports it. Not 2 times. Not 5 times. Nearly 100 times.

At the same time, fewer than one third of employees say their manager is actually helping them use AI. That gap is where everything breaks. You can have the best tools in the world. If your managers are not guiding how those tools get used, nothing changes. And your managers are uniquely qualified to work through the fear, uncertainty and doubt that will naturally spring up. AI should be positioned as a compliment to their work and front line leaders can help drive and support that message.

The Good News: Huge Opportunity for Smaller Organizations

This is where SMBs and nonprofits have an edge. You are closer to your teams. You move faster. You do not have layers of approval slowing everything down.

If you focus on three things, you can get real value out of AI while others are still experimenting.

1. Help your team understand what AI is and what it is not

2. Give them a few clear ways to use it in their actual work

3. Make sure leaders and managers are actively reinforcing it

That’s it. Not a massive transformation. Not a complicated rollout. Just clarity, confidence, and consistency.

The Bottom Line

AI is not going to replace your people. But organizations that implement now, even at a small scale, will outpace those that do not in the next year. Right now, most organizations are still stuck at the starting line. Not because the tools are not good enough. Because their people are not ready.

That’s the real shift happening. And it’s one you can get ahead of.

Where to Start

If you’re thinking about AI but not sure where to begin, start simple. Pick one part of your business that feels slow, repetitive, or unclear. That’s usually where AI can help first.

If you want a second set of eyes on it, I’m happy to take a look.

Schedule a quick 30-minute intro at https://www.rochesterai.org/book-online

No pressure. Just a conversation about what might actually work for your team.