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Our workplaces are undergoing the next technological revolution, brought on by the warp-speed growth of artificial intelligence (AI). Generative AI is a total game changer for how we work. One day, well look back and wonder how we did our jobs without this technology. But not today. Many of us are still living firmly in the discovery period of AI at work, and were dealing with a big dichotomy. Employees are incredibly curious about how to use AI to make their jobs easier and accelerate their growth, but very few people feel like they know how to do that. The results of a recent Wiley survey of around 2,000 individuals across a range of job roles and industries make this clear. The large majority76%of our respondents reported that they lack confidence in how to use AI at work. A recent Gallup survey reported similar findings, with only 6% of employees saying they feel very comfortable using AI in their roles, while about one-third say they feel very uncomfortable. Employees are stressed out about AI This transition is stressful; virtually all (96%) of those Wiley surveyed said they are experiencing some degree of stress about change at work. More than half reported at least moderate levels of anxiety as they navigate the complexities of AI adoption. This is completely natural for a change of this magnitude. Applications of AI generate emotions around job security and a general fear of this new unknown. Employees will often turn to their supervisor for guidance during times of change at work. But while the majority of respondents in our survey said that their manager is supportive of their efforts to integrate AI, only 34% of managers themselves reported feeling equipped when it comes to incorporating AI at work. This ends up causing more stress and worry for both managers and employees as a result. Getting past emotional barriers AI isnt going anywhere. To be successful at work, we all need to get past emotional barriers and embrace AI. And its not merely just about staying current with industry trends. Its about making jobs easier so that companies can compete in their industry and colleagues can accelerate their careers. Failure to drive access and adoption of AI technology can easily cause companies to lose their competitive edge in the marketplace. Your first priority should be to get everyone to adopt AI in their day-to-day work. In practice, this likely means increasing the availability of tools. Employees cant use AI if they dont have it readily available. But the successful adoption of AI hinges on more than just accessemployees need to know how to use these tools and do so responsibly, with guardrails for their respective roles. Investing in upskilling is crucial in navigating this transition. This requires organizations to take a multifaceted approach that encompasses training, support, communication, and transparency. When people understand both what they are doing and why theyre doing it, theyre more likely to embrace change. Help employees feel comfortable using AI According to our survey, companies can help their employees feel comfortable in using this technology by providing them with three things: Clear expectations around the usage of AIEmployees need to have clear expectations to guide their AI usage given the risks involved. This might require many different steps to manage that risk based on whats best for your organization. One way you can do this is by laying out a risk controls framework that is right-sized for your organization. Its also important for company leaders to model the way and advocate for usage among employees. A clear understanding of organizational strategyMaking an explicit statement about the role AI plays in your organizations strategy can also go a long way. Consider gathering a group of internal subject matter expertswhether that be business, technology, legal, and communications expertsto drive strategy and develop standards for your organizations ethical and responsible use of AI. Training on ways to integrate AIOnce employees are comfortable with the tool, you need to train them to actually use the tool. Manager training and adoption are essential elements since so many people will turn to their direct supervisors for help. This group is extremely crucial in providing motivation and encouragement to their teams. Is AI going to create a once-in-a-generation transformation in the workplace? Probably. Is it overwhelming to a lot of people? Definitely. But if we let ourselves, our teams, and our organizations stay overwhelmed, well never realize all the potential that AI has to offer.
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E-Commerce
When construction started on a new affordable apartment building in Brooklyn, most of the work on the site happened very quickly. Instead of typical construction, cranes lifted giant modular units into the aireach made up of two separate apartments, plus the corridor between themand set them into place. Trucks delivered nearly four dozen 60-foot-long mods from the factory where they were built in Pennsylvania, staging them next to a nearby cemetery in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East Flatbush. Then, each day for two weeks, construction crews stacked together as many as six of the units. (The massive size of the units made them more challenging to transport than a single modular apartment at a time, but the configuration helped shrink the time for installation on site.) [Photo: courtesy RiseBoro] The apartments were essentially 100% complete inside. (Appliances were strapped to the corridors and just had to be slid into place.) The crew only had to weld the units together and connect wiring and plumbing from each apartment to the hallway. After all of the units were attached, the crew added continuous insulation to the outside and finished other elements like the roof. [Image: courtesy RiseBoro] A project of this size, with 57 apartments and four stories, could have taken 30 months to build, says Yolanda do Campo, director of construction at RiseBoro, the nonprofit developer behind the project. Instead, it took only 22 months. A shorter timeline means significant savings. Less construction time means fewer months of interest payments, do Campo says. Interest payments for the project average around $100,000 a month. It also means, of course, that residents can start moving in faster. In this case, the apartments are limited to seniors in New York Citys affordable housing lottery, with a percentage of the units reserved for seniors who were previously homeless. The process has still taken time, in part because of the bureaucracy involved with the housing lottery. The building was completed last fall; the first residents started moving in in January and only a handful live there so far. But faster construction helped. [Image: courtesy RiseBoro] As builders gain more experience in modular construction, it could happen even more quickly. I really do think that we do this a couple more times and we’re seeing a building come in 15, 16 months, which is somewhat unheard of for something like this, says Grayson Jordan, principal at PCA, the architecture firm behind the building’s design. While modular apartment buildings are starting to become more common in cities, the project went a step further with a passive house design, meaning that it has ultra-low energy demand. The building is well-insulated and airtight. The hot water system runs on a heat pump. The apartments are all-electric and designed to run on solar power, so the building can get as close to net zero energy use as possible. RiseBoro pays for some of the utilities of the tenants, says do Campo. So being passive house and saving energy is critical to the business modelbesides contributing to sustainability, we lower the monthly bills. RiseBoro has pioneered energy-efficient design in other projects, including adding sleek new facades to aging apartment buildings to help them shrink energy use by 80%. Outside, the south side of the building has stepped terraces instead of a flat wall, creating a series of outdoor community spaces for residents and more space for solar panels. There was a learning curve to using modular construction; since the local construction crew didn’t have expertise working with modular units, Riseboro had to help coordinate between the factory and the crew on the ground. But it will get easier in the future, Jordan says. “I see a way forward where this becomes just normal construction,” he says. “It does not seem like rocket science. It just seems like, OK, well, you did this the first time. Let’s work out the kinks.” There are some other potential cost advantages to doing most of the work in a factory offsite. Labor in the Pennsylvania factory is less expensive. And crews can build the modular units year-round without delays because of bad weather. Jordan hopes that it also will become standard for larger affordable apartment buildings. “I think it really makes a lot of sense,” he says. “It’s just a matter of really getting the people who make the decisions comfortable with the idea of building a little bit differently than they’re used to . . . I think we all know that there’s a great need for affordable housing, and this is one of several tools that I think could be powerful in meeting that challenge.”
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E-Commerce
The most frequent mistake companies make when applying? They fail to focus on a single, representative example of internally grown innovation. Heres some advice on how to produce a more compelling application for Fast Companys Best Workplaces for Innovators 2025. Get Real Jargon won’t win you any awards. Applications that read as if they were written to appeal primarily to an internal audience are not likely to earn high marks from our judges. Use clear language to describe your innovation programs. We’re looking for companies that do more than just talk the talk. Be Current Focus on a recent or ongoing example. We’re looking for current hotbeds of innovationorganizations that are working to sustain a creative culture and aren’t resting on the laurels of a handful of breakthroughs from a decade ago. Be Specific We’re looking to honor companies that are accomplishing real innovation, not merely laying the groundwork for future breakthroughs. In other words, focus on real projects delivering measurable results. Be Precise We want details. Who did what when, and how? How’d the idea come about? What initial hurdles needed to be overcome? How big was the team? How long did it take? How much investment was required? Emphasize Outcomes Tell us exactly what was accomplished and what it means. What are the impacts or implications for the company, the industry, the broader community? Be Democratic Your big idea may have originated in the C-suite, but (full disclosure) we’re a bit biased toward ideas that come from the bottom up, from unexpected sources (think interns) because a) they’re more surprising and make for better stories, and b) they are more indicative of a pervasive culture of innovation that rewards exploration at all levels. That said, wherever the idea originated, the emphasis should be on the quality of the innovation, the rigor with which it was pursued, and the inclusivity of the effort to bring the idea to fruition. Tell a Story Exhaustive lists of initiatives are boring. Pick a project that seems most emblematic of your own particular culture of innovation and tell the story. (See Be precise and Be democratic above.) You can always include at the end of your example a quick list of other significant recent efforts that have benefited from the same culture. Don’t Procrastinate This years deadline for Best Workplaces for Innovators applications is now just a few days away, March 28.
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