AI Can’t Fix a Human Problem - Why the future of work starts with understanding people
Or perhaps more accurately, why so many workplaces struggle to get the best from the people within them.
And interestingly, as incredible as useful AI is – I don’t think it is going to fix that.
In fact, as AI changes the way we work faster than ever, I think understanding people is going to matter more, not less.
Somewhere along the way, work became separate from life.
We were taught that professionalism meant leaving parts of ourselves at the door.
Don’t bring your emotions.
Don’t bring your struggles.
Don’t bring your worries about your children, your ageing parents, your relationship, your anxiety, your self-doubt or your grief.
Just bring the productive bits.
Human beings don’t work like that
We don’t stop being ourselves at 9am and become ourselves again at 5pm.
We carry our life into work every day.
The argument with our partner over breakfast.
The sleepless night with a poorly child – The worry about money – The fear that we’re not good enough – The excitement of something wonderful happening – The loneliness that nobody knows we’re carrying.
It all comes with us.
We can’t just switch it off what we have learnt and how we live as it is embedded in every task we take on, at work or at home.
Yet many workplaces still operate as though people are machines. Then wonder why engagement is low, stress is high and people are leaving.
I learned this by accident …
My first job was in a Jobcentre. I was eighteen… so way back in the early ’80s! Technically, I was employed to do the filing.
In reality, I spent far more time wandering around talking to people, usually carrying the filing with me. I wasn’t avoiding work. I was just fascinated by people.
I noticed who sat alone and who shared information. Who seemed confident but really wasn’t. Who was struggling. Who was helping.
Without realising it, I was oiling the cogs with human interaction in places where it just wasn’t happening. I was noticing how relationships influenced everything and at the time, I had no idea how important that would become in my life.
I definitely didn’t file very much.
But I did help things happen. I helped people feel seen and appreciated.
And without knowing it, I was studying for what was to become my career – to be fair I was never going to make it as an office worker!
I was, however, learning that people are rarely motivated by what we think motivates them.
They’re motivated by belonging.
- By feeling safe.
- By feeling understood.
- By knowing they matter.
If I’d known then that this curiosity would eventually become my life’s work, I might have arrived here a lot sooner!
The biggest workplace myth
One of the biggest myths in business is that people need fixing.
I spent years in management where people could quickly become labelled as useless, difficult or not committed if they weren’t functioning in the way they were expected to.
But what if they weren’t broken? What if we simply didn’t understand what was going on?
- The person who’s disengaged may be exhausted.
- The person who’s angry may be frightened.
- The person who’s underperforming may be carrying a burden nobody knows about.
- The person who keeps everyone laughing may be struggling the most.
This doesn’t mean removing accountability. It means getting curious before we judge. Because human beings are wonderfully complex. Yet workplaces often reduce them to job titles, targets and performance reviews and miss the humanness.
In an attempt to help with this, some organisations seem to have swung to the opposite extreme.
- They become overprotective.
- Trying to solve every problem.
- Trying to rescue everyone.
- Trying to create happiness.
But workplaces aren’t families, there is a job to be done. Managers aren’t parents and the goal isn’t to create dependency.
It’s to create an environment where people feel safe enough to be honest, responsible enough to own their stuff and supported enough to grow.
- Not a nanny.
- Not a rescuer.
- A safe base.
A place where people can speak openly without fear. Where challenges can be discussed rather than hidden and being human isn’t seen as weakness.
A Safe Base – people who genuinely care
What people really need
People need psychological safety.
They need leaders who understand themselves before trying to lead others and they need conversations that go beyond performance.
In Brene Browns top selling book DARE TO LEAD she emphasises the need for leaders who understand themselves before trying to lead others.
“Who we are is how we lead.” — Brené Brown
They need space to acknowledge what’s happening rather than pretending everything is fine and need to understand that behaviour is communication. And they need permission to be human.
Because when people feel safe, something remarkable happens.
- They can think.
- They can question.
- They can be creative.
- They can collaborate.
- They can take risks.
- They can admit they don’t know something.
- They can ask for help.
And that’s where innovation happens.
And then there’s AI…
Undoubtedly AI is going to change the way we work.
Some jobs will change dramatically. Some tasks will disappear. New ones will emerge. The way we communicate, create, analyse and solve problems will continue to evolve.
But AI doesn’t make human connection less important – It makes it more important.
The more technology can do, the more valuable the things that require us to actually be human become.
- Curiosity.
- Empathy.
- Trust.
- Creativity.
- Relationships.
- Knowing when someone isn’t okay.
- Understanding what isn’t being said.
- Having the courage to have the difficult conversation.
- Making someone feel that they matter.
AI can give us information. It can help us work faster. It can generate ideas.
But it can’t replace the experience of being genuinely understood by another human being.
The future of work is human
For all our technology, automation and AI, one of the greatest workplace advantages may still be something we’ve had all along:
Human Connection
And connection starts with understanding ourselves.
When we understand what happens to us under pressure, what we need to feel safe, what triggers us, what we believe about ourselves and how our experiences shape the way we respond, we have a much better chance of understanding other people too.
And that changes workplaces.
- People don’t have to wear a mask.
- They don’t have to numb what they’re feeling.
- They can bring their strengths, their struggles, their ideas and their authenticity into the room without fear.
Because work isn’t separate from life.
Work is life.
It’s simply a group of human beings trying to achieve something together.
Technology may shape the future of work. AI may change how we do it. But people will still be the ones doing the work.
And perhaps that’s the bit we need to remember.
My work based programs focus on helping employees at all levels understand themselves from the perspective of being human.
I specialise in high pressured work environments such as construction, care, education or front line workers.
Want to know more?
– Just send me a message via text 07855853543 or email Lynne@LynneJones.org to let me know your needs and we can arrange to chat about what will work for you!
