Do You Have the Energy To Embrace AI, or Are You Exhausted? Reviving The Collective Spirit

We have to talk about how exhausted we are, before we can move forward and tap into the opportunities of AI.

The relentless momentum and constant drive we've experienced over the last few years, coupled with the flexibility of remote work, have left us feeling like we're perpetually on the go. Disengagement among remote workers has become prevalent. And quiet quitting is a real concern. And this collective fatigue is hindering our ability to connect with a larger purpose necessary to step into and create a better future.

We haven’t fully integrated how the pandemic and remote work impacted our connection to our jobs, colleagues, and the workplace. We haven’t figured out how to come back together to solve problems that got amplified with covid19. Covid was like turning the lights on only to find that our kitchen was filled with cockroaches, philip horváth , LUMAN co-founder, says.

And with AI, we’re jumping into another era. We have to stop and breath for one minute, and reflect. Else we cannot address the collective malaise, regain a sense of collective purpose and energy that will get us through this era.

A Change Moment: Reflecting on the Past and Embracing the Future

And leaders see this malaise and disengagement reflected in the figures—profitability has dropped, and innovation waned. A knee jerk reaction is observed, as our leaders desperately try to get folks back in the office with the hopes this will enhance productivity and creativity.

But mandating employees back to the office without considering how the workplace has changed can increase disengagement and fatigue even more. What's more is that leaders risk losing progress made during remote work: People gained a new sense of authority and autonomy that enhances intrinsic motivation.

Leveraging The Fatigue To Discuss How To Improve the Future

This change moment offers an opportunity to strategize and experiment, leveraging collective fatigue to create a brighter future. Assessing the lessons learned during the pandemic is needed. Discussing how our work experience has changed, what we've gained and lost from remote work, and how collaboration, leadership and innovation has to be evolved to prepare for the integration AI, will be key. This work will help us to understand what needs to change to re-ignite a sense of collective energy and purpose.

AI is complex, and will require the collective intelligence to find the best solution. We won’t get those solutions, or experience high energy and collective motivation by telling people when to come to the office without considering how the work experience's changed.

Co-Creating a Better Future And Work Place Experience

Imposing top-down decisions on employees will not foster the energy and motivation needed for success. To maintain the gained authority and autonomy, leaders benefit from facilitating conversations on what teams need for effective collaboration, and co-creating a work place experience that ignites passion and engagement.

This won't be the last change that we will be confronted with. If you're leading your team through ongoing change and you wish to enhance resilience and set your team up for ongoing change then our LinkedIn live "Set Teams Up for Ongoing Change: Build Resilience & Overcome Burnout" is meant for you!

Register and join us this upcoming Wednesday, August 16th, at 8:30AM PT or 17h30 CET.

I'll see you there!

Helena