Can AI really make your employees happier?

New research says yes.

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AI & HR – From Theory to Practice

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Happy Tuesday,

This was not the intended article for today but then stuff happened during the weekend so I had to reshuffle a bit. I initially thought I’d even wait to just do this as a small note in the Friday update (feedback has been excellent on that one, thank you for all the positive comments!) - but this is such an important and significant study that it’s worth highlighting.

So here I am, late Monday night writing this before we have our internal people offsite starting tomorrow.

Let’s get to it.

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Ten years ago, if I had approached you and said, "Hey, for just 20 bucks a month, I'll transform your employees! I’ll boost their productivity by 25%, improve their quality of work by roughly 40%, make them dramatically faster, and as a bonus, they'll also feel happier and more engaged at work," you'd probably have thought I'd lost touch with reality or had one too many drinks.

But what if that seemingly wild scenario was real?

AI in teams

Harvard Business School, in collaboration with the renowned and leading AI scientist Ethan Mollick and his colleagues, decided to put this hypothesis (ok, pretty sure they did not frame it as I did above) to the test in a study involving 776 professionals at Procter & Gamble. They conducted this experiment as sort of a follow-up to their earlier study on individual productivity, exploring the impact of generative AI specifically on teamwork.

Here's how they structured it:

• Individuals working alone, with and without AI.

• Two-person teams, again, with and without AI.

And then they looked at what happened.

AI equals a human teammate

The study provided clear evidence that teams without AI outperformed individuals by a meaningful margin, validating the traditional benefits of collaboration.

However, the real surprise came with AI-enabled participants. Individuals working with AI performed equally well as entire teams without AI, achieving a significant quality improvement.

This effectively means that pairing a human with AI replicated the performance boost typically provided by adding a human teammate.

Furthermore, teams using AI performed slightly better overall, especially excelling at producing truly exceptional solutions. Both individuals and teams with AI also completed tasks significantly faster, saving around 12-16% of the time while generating more detailed and thorough outputs.

Democratizing expertise with AI

AI didn’t just boost individual performance; it transformed how teams leveraged their expertise. Traditionally, R&D professionals would naturally suggest technical solutions, while commercial team members leaned towards market-focused ideas. Without AI, employees less familiar with new product development struggled significantly, even in teams.

However, AI dramatically altered this dynamic: non-experts using AI performed as effectively as expert-led teams without AI, essentially substituting for the guidance typically provided by more experienced colleagues.

Additionally, AI's presence encouraged both commercial and technical teams to generate more balanced, integrated solutions, spanning technical feasibility and market viability, leading to more holistic and interdisciplinary outcomes.

Happier and more engaged employees

Beyond productivity, the study highlighted the human experience.

Usually, people working alone feel less positive compared to those in teams because of the social and emotional benefits of teamwork.

Interestingly, individuals using AI felt as positive, or even more positive, than those working in traditional teams without AI. Additionally, these positive feelings were closely linked to participants' growing optimism about using AI in the future.

People who became more enthusiastic about future AI use generally reported feeling happier and less stressed during their tasks.

While this doesn't prove that one directly causes the other, it strongly indicates that positive experiences with AI may encourage greater openness to its ongoing use.

This research from Harvard aligns closely with findings from Uddevalla municipality’s pilot evaluation of Microsoft 365 Copilot. Employees reported significant improvements, with 67% noticing higher work quality, 73% finding their tasks more enjoyable, and substantial time savings of approximately 5 to 8 hours per month.

Importantly, the majority found the digital workplace more attractive and user-friendly, highlighting how effective AI integration enhances not just efficiency, but also creativity, professional confidence, and overall job satisfaction. These results reinforce that successful AI implementation centers on enhancing people's experiences rather than just technology itself.

Rethinking leadership for AI

I've been emphasizing from the start that adopting AI isn't just about acquiring new tech, it's about rethinking organizational structures and how we facilitate collaboration between humans and AI. This will require proactive leadership and potentially new leadership skills, particularly focused on guiding and supporting hybrid AI-human teamwork. Leaders will increasingly need curiosity, openness to continuous learning, and a clear understanding of tasks that require human oversight versus those suitable for AI.

For us, this means providing support and training that clarifies the technological frontier: When do we let AI take the lead, and when should humans maintain control? Leadership programs must evolve to teach these critical decision-making skills, making it clear when and how to effectively integrate AI into daily workflows.

We need to intentionally design workplaces and prepare leaders to effectively integrate AI, ensuring it becomes a true partner rather than merely an additional tool.

Yes, it's still early days, but with multiple studies now highlighting clear and significant benefits from generative AI, the evidence is compelling—provided we do it right! Beyond productivity, beyond efficiency—AI could be shaping workplaces where people feel more connected, creative, and content, once again IF we do this right.

We have a lot of careful thinking and intentional designing ahead of us. It's never been a more fun time to be in HR than now.