As leaders look for opportunities to successfully drive AI adoption throughout their workforce, our latest survey of employed Americans offers a practical guide.
The research revealed three kinds of AI users. Just over a third of workers (36%) were identified as “AI-enthusiastic”. This group uses AI heavily and credits it with helping them produce better work. Another 34% are “AI-burdened”. They also use AI frequently but they’re more likely to say AI doesn’t help improve their outputs and that they’re often spending their time correcting what AI produced. The remaining 30% rarely use it, in many cases because nobody has trained them. It’s worth noting that nearly half of enthusiastic users (49%) do not have a college degree, so engagement is not necessarily limited to a certain profile of worker.
The differences between these groups offer insight on how to manage AI-driven transformation in ways that benefit workers and drive business outcomes.
Let’s start with how each group uses the tools. AI-enthusiastic workers are in them constantly, with 18% logging more than 15 hours a week. By contrast, 69% of burdened workers stay in the one- to eight-hour range. Interestingly, neither group is working less as a result. Forty-five percent of enthusiasts say AI has increased their workload, as do 41% of burdened workers. Both are doing more, but only one of them feels good about it.
This leads to another key takeaway. 95% of AI enthusiasts say their manager has “some awareness” of how AI is changing their role or adding to their workload, compared to 88% of AI-burdened workers. When asked whether their manager is “fully aware”, the gap widens sharply to 69% versus 44%.
The final insight relates to engagement and loyalty. 59% of enthusiastic workers say AI makes them more likely to stay with their current employer – more than double the number of burdened workers who say the same. Nearly a quarter (24%) of the AI-burdened group report that they have already had doubts about staying or are considering leaving their jobs based on how AI is changing their role.
While companies race to build or access the best tools to compete and win in the AI-powered economy, the ROI of AI may rely just as much on the strength of the teams using it.
Be well,
Martin
70% of investors believe companies should provide AI skills training to all of their employees.
Inc. examines new polling that shows almost 56% of people trust AI more than politicians.
The Wall Street Journal highlights another instance of AI going rogue during a test conducted by the UK government.
The former CIO of lululemon took to The New York Times to explain why corporate AI deployment is stalling.
Fortune reveals that many Gen Z workers are abandoning work-life balance in favor of climbing the corporate ladder.
The Wall Street Journal reports that JPMorgan Chase is investing over $750 billion to boost U.S. housing supply, with the aim of financing 1 million affordable housing units through 2035.
Fortune examines how Gen Z is actually investing more than millennials did at the same age.
Axios reveals that Americans want CEOs to know that costs are too high and prices need to come down. Explore the rest of the data here.
Yesterday, I shared a Q&A I recently had with Steve Beard on LinkedIn. Steve is CEO of Covista, which recently completed a transformation into America’s largest healthcare educator. It’s a fascinating story that got me thinking more broadly about what distinguishes leaders who successfully navigate profound transformation. The news that Enrique Lores has been named CEO of PayPal and The HOW Institute’s annual release of their State of Moral Leadership in Business report added more food for thought on this increasingly critical topic.
Enrique received our inaugural JUST Capital Lifetime Achievement Award last year for his exceptional leadership at HP Inc. During his tenure, he guided the company through a fundamental strategic transformation while consistently investing in workers, customers, and communities. I have confidence he’ll do the same at PayPal.
What do Steve and Enrique have in common? Both understand that transformation and stakeholder investment aren’t competing priorities, they’re mutually reinforcing.
Covista sits at the intersection of workforce, health, education, and technology. When I asked about Covista Open Doors, their new initiative to expand access to healthcare careers, Steve went straight to the heart of it. “We train and develop the folks that care for all of us,” he told me. “And we’ve got an opportunity that we believe is too good and too important to pass up.”
Enrique operated with the same philosophy at HP. At our flagship Best of American Business event last year he shared his conviction that “…business success and social responsibility are not separate pursuits. They are deeply connected.”
Both leaders also embody authentic leadership grounded in personal experience. Steve, a first-generation college graduate, told me that creating opportunity for historically excluded populations is simply part of who he is. Enrique started at HP as an intern nearly four decades ago, inspiring his commitment to workforce advancement and long-view leadership.
The HOW Institute report demonstrates how rare this kind of human, stakeholder-first leadership may be but also how vital it is to the process of transformation.
Be well,
Martin
The New York Times surveyed prominent technologists, economists, and philosophers and found deep disagreement over whether AI will ultimately expand opportunity or accelerate inequality. They also put out a separate opinion piece featuring three economists debating the impact AI is already having on the economy.
Fortune reports that Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser is pushing an employee training initiative across the organization to reskill their workforce with AI tools before automation reshapes people’s roles.
Axios examines why employees aren’t buying the hype for AI the same way their employers are.
The Washington Post reports a widening labor gap as demand for electricians, plumbers, and skilled trades grows while white-collar hiring slows..
Fortune finds more employers abandoning performance-based raises in favor of flat, across-the-board increases — a move meant to more broadly retain workers.
Bloomberg reveals that CEOs are increasingly anxious about economic slowdown, geopolitical instability, AI backlash, and workforce morale with fewer leaders confident they can manage multiple risks at once.
HR Dive highlights new research showing that replacing an employee now costs employers more than $45,000 on average, strengthening the business case for retention.
The Wall Street Journal reports that The Washington Post is laying off about one third of its workforce as digital subscription growth slows and legacy media companies continue to struggle with advertising and audience fragmentation.
A KFF Health Tracking Poll finds health care costs, expiring ACA tax credits, and insurance affordability are top voter concerns, particularly with many companies having to alter their health benefits due to rising prices.
As a wise person once observed, it’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future. That said, our data, our breadth of relationships, and our vantage point over the corporate landscape does afford us a decent perspective on what might be coming around the corner. So here goes.
Happy New Year to you all!
Be well,
Martin
“One question that we ask everyone, regardless of if you’re a consultant or you’re working in technology…we say: ‘What have you learned in the last six months?’ A lot of the time people are asking me, ‘how do I know if someone’s a learner?’ And it’s a very simple way to know. If someone can’t answer that question, and by the way, we don’t care if it’s ‘I learned to bake a cake,’ if they can’t answer that question, then we know that they’re not a learner.”
Newsweek highlights our 2023 report on how only 9% of America’s largest companies provide paid parental leave parity in their article on why parental leave is starting to look up for Americans.
Martin joins the Purpose 360 podcast along with the CIO of IBM, CEO of Keep America Beautiful, and the Managing Director at Lion Tree to give their predictions on the year ahead around AI growth, DEI, corporate responsibility, and more.
NBC News reports that Meta is ending its fact-checking program and replacing it with a “Community Notes” style system alongside other changes after Zuckerberg said the “program intended to inform too often became a tool to censor.”
McDonald’s drops its employee and supplier diversity targets during the same week that Costco pushes back against anti-DEI board members.
Axios looks at which two industries would actually benefit if Trump implements his tariff plan, and Fortune hosts several opinion pieces debating their potential benefits and detriments.
The Washington Post reports that U.S Steel and Nippon Steel are suing the Biden administration for blocking their merger.
This chart comes from the latest research from Axios, and shows that anti-DEI shareholder proposals have continued to rise since 2020, with an increase over the last year. Explore more here.
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The retail sector represents a vital sector of the U.S. economy, providing essential employment opportunities to over 55 million Americans, or roughly 26% of all employment in the country. And yet, despite its significant role, the retail sector often struggles with job quality. Too many retail jobs are part-time, low-wage positions with limited benefits, unpredictable schedules, and minimal opportunities for career advancement and professional development, leading to high turnover and low employee satisfaction. In 2023, research showed that 44% of retail workers contemplated leaving their jobs within the next three to six months, citing inadequate growth opportunities, mobility, or coaching as the top reasons for potential turnover – outweighing (though closely followed by) concerns about compensation and benefits.
Just Capital’s annual Americans’ Views on Business Survey, our longest running longitudinal survey of a representative sample of 3,000 Americans, highlighted broad agreement among respondents (92%) that retaining and promoting workers from within is an important business behavior. However, just over half (58%) of respondents felt that companies are performing well in this area.
As retail jobs increasingly shift from temporary job opportunities to long-term career options or serve as a vital career launchpad for many, employers must prioritize creating quality jobs that meet workers’ needs, attract and retain top talent, and provide clear pathways for advancement and development. In a sector where high turnover rates and entry-level positions are common, investing in employee development is key to fostering long-term engagement and retention. Within retail’s highly competitive industry environment, engaged, experienced employees can drive operational success and create value. What’s more, engaged employees attract customers, both by creating a better customer experience and by demonstrating the company’s values to customers who prefer businesses that invest in their people.
So which retailers are leading the way in providing opportunities for their employees? Just Capital’s Just Jobs Scorecard and The Schultz Family Foundation’s American Opportunity Index (AOI) assess company performance on job quality by tracking the policy investments that companies make and the outcomes of these investments for their employees. Among the hundreds of companies analyzed in both tools, Best Buy (BBY) stood out for its strong focus on professional development and career advancement opportunities for its workers.
Best Buy’s workforce development focus emphasizes the critical role that job quality and continuous career growth opportunities play in the retail industry. Best Buy’s strong performance on the Training and Development topic in Just Capital’s 2024 Just Jobs Scorecard underscores its commitment to creating meaningful career opportunities, which are especially important in retail where employees often face limited advancement prospects. This dedication is further validated by the company’s performance on the American Opportunity Index (AOI), where Best Buy is recognized as one of the leading retail companies in driving economic mobility and positive career outcomes for its employees. It is worth noting that the company is not immune to industry pressures and underwent layoffs in 2024 as part of a restructuring plan. Nevertheless, the company stands out for several leading practices in workforce development.
Through its tuition reimbursement program, Best Buy provides financial support for undergraduate and graduate coursework to full-time employees after six months of employment. This initiative helps make higher education more attainable and promotes ongoing education and skill development within the company. Additionally, Best Buy invests in on-the-job career development, providing an average of 44 hours of training per employee in FY23. That’s well above the current research-backed leading practice of 30 hours, and the retail industry average of 17 hours. Such strategic investments in the workforce have been linked to enhanced productivity and higher employee retention, benefiting both employees and the organization. In FY23, Best Buy reported a turnover rate of 34%, pointing to talent retention that exceeded the industry average for retail companies assessed by Just Capital.
In addition to its educational support, Best Buy is enhancing real-world industry experience through paid internship programs. In FY23, the company welcomed over 200 paid summer interns from high school, college, and graduate programs, offering opportunities for students from more than 75 universities across 26 states. Best Buy also invests in supporting individuals looking to re-enter the job market. In FY23, its partnership with The Mom Project underscored its commitment to recruiting skilled and diverse talent, including mothers seeking to return to work. Through these initiatives, Best Buy not only sets a high standard in training and development among its peers but also strengthens its dedication to inclusivity and diversity in hiring practices, which Just Capital’s polling indicates is important to American consumers.
Looking ahead, Best Buy is positioning itself at the forefront of workplace innovation by implementing an advanced AI-driven program, designed to anticipate future workforce needs and chart new learning and career pathways for employees. Although earlier this year layoffs accompanied the company’s investment in AI to enhance customer support, the use of AI now may be helping employees adapt to the evolving workplace. As AI continues to reshape job roles and skill requirements across industries, proactive company approaches like Best Buy’s help support employees in remaining competitive and well-prepared for an evolving job market.
Best Buy’s investments in workforce development support professional growth and mobility while expanding opportunities for individuals at various stages of their careers. This approach demonstrates the importance of investing in employees to drive long-term success, showing how effective job quality strategies can enhance retention and contribute to both employee and organizational success.
The policies that emerge from Best Buy’s workforce investment priorities can be tracked through our Just Jobs Scorecard, and the policies’ positive impact on Best Buy’s employees can be explored through Best Buy’s performance on the American Opportunity Index.
To learn how we’re engaging on job quality issues, unpack your company’s performance on the Just Jobs Scorecard, or join a corporate community of practice focused on peer learning and expert feedback on workforce well-being, please reach out to corpengage@justcapital.com.
