Written by Jessica Burns on Jan 30, 2026
AI’s impact on the workforce is growing and so is hiring managers’ concern about the use of AI in the workplace, according to a recent Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey.
Collaboration for American Companies in the AI Era
Eighty-six percent of hiring managers are concerned about the growing use of AI in the workplace, particularly that employees will lose the ability to think creatively (43%), connection and communication among employees will decrease (41%), and that they will lose the ability to solve problems (39%).
Impact on Collaboration
Companies using AI in the workplace largely report AI helped with collaboration, including:
- How productive employees are when collaborating/working together (73%)
- How easily employees collaborate/work together in real-time (72%)
- How frequently employees collaborate/work together (65%)
- How frequently employees reach out to other employees for help (65%)
Despite the benefits AI can have on collaboration, 81% of hiring managers in companies using AI in the workplace believe employees at their company rely on AI at least sometimes instead of reaching out to other coworkers for help or input, and 35% say this always or often happens.
Collaboration in Canadian Workplaces: Is AI a Friend or Foe?
Eighty-nine percent of hiring managers are concerned about the growing use of AI in the workplace, particularly that employees will lose the ability to think creatively (46%) and solve problems (42%), and connection and communication among employees will decrease (40%).
Companies using AI in the workplace largely report AI helped with collaboration, including:
- How productive employees are when collaborating/working together (67%)
- How easily employees collaborate/work together in real-time (55%)
- How frequently employees collaborate/work together (54%)
- How frequently employees reach out to other employees for help (54%)
Despite the benefits AI can have on collaboration, 76% of hiring managers in companies using AI in the workplace believe employees at the company at least sometimes rely on AI instead of reaching out to other coworkers for help or input, and 25% say this always or often happens.
Explore More Workforce Trends Impacting Hiring
Discover more about current workforce trends, including AI for collaboration and job security fears, in the latest Job Insights report.
To track the latest workforce trends, The Harris Poll, on behalf of Express Employment Professionals, conducts a biannual Job Insights survey tracking employment and hiring trends across a wide range of industries.
For the latest commentary on the state of employment in America, visit ExpressPros.com/AmericaEmployed, and for Canada, visit ExpressPros.ca/Newsroom.
