Why Employees Aren’t Adopting AI
Part Two of Our 2026 Prediction Series
Organizations are asking why their people are not using AI. There is no single reason. There are several, and some are genuinely complex. But one sits underneath all of them. Employees do not adopt new technology when the culture around them has not created the conditions for adoption in the first place.
If you want to understand resistance to AI, you have to start with the employee experience. The NICH +Culture Employee Experience Framework outlines eight categories that shape how people feel about their work and their workplace:
1. Fundamental Needs,
2. Meaningful Work,
3. Leadership,
4. Positive Workplace,
5. Recognition + Appreciation,
6. Health + Wellbeing,
7. Development + Growth,
8. Trust in Organization
The first category, Fundamental Needs, is the foundation. Market-competitive compensation and benefits, the right tools and systems, schedules that make sense, effective onboarding, and basic training. These are the things employees expect an organization to get right before it asks them to take on something new.
When these fundamentals are inconsistent or neglected, everything else becomes harder. Employees become protective of their time and skeptical of new initiatives, especially ones that promise transformation but arrive in a workplace where even the basics feel shaky. And this is where culture asserts itself. Culture is not posters and mission statements. Culture is how consistently the organization delivers on the fundamentals.
If an employee does not trust the company to fix outdated systems, provide clarity, or staff their team appropriately, why would they feel inspired to embrace AI? Why would they spend discretionary effort learning new tools when the existing ones barely get the job done? Why would they believe this initiative will last any longer than the others that quietly disappeared?
This is the piece many miss. AI adoption is not primarily a technology issue. It is a cultural one. It requires stability, clarity, and trust, and those conditions only exist when the employee experience is healthy at its foundation.
So before leaders worry about training plans or prompt-writing workshops, the more honest question is: Have we created a culture where employees want to engage with new technology?
If the answer is no, AI adoption will be slow, uneven, and frustrating. If the answer is yes, employees will lean in because they believe the organization is invested in them, not just the tools.
Next week, we take on another obstacle.
This CEO laid off nearly 80% of his staff because they refused to adopt AI fast enough.
Their website gives vaporware vibes, TBH.
New research from Gartner, Phenom and others reveals AI’s ROI problem.
“The disconnect between AI adoption and business results has reached a critical point.”
U.S. payrolls rose 50,000 in December, less than expected; unemployment rate falls to 4.4%
And the Golden Globe for Best Podcast Goes To … Wait, Who?
It was an honor just to be nominated.
SpeedStudio Podcast:
Ep. 122 – Circle-Back Season and Communities for Everyone
A one-on-one with Nikki and Chad in the Studio, where they subconsciously revert to Culture Edit mode: they chat “circle-back” season, trapped in fake-days, how WFH has increased the extended holiday break in the corporate world, and Nikki learns about the interoffice envelope. They also chat about training for UTMB via ChatGPT (lots of acronyms), being impressed by the Meta Oakley glasses, a knitting deep dive, and how there’s a community for everyone. Speaking of knitting…Jamiroquai’s big hats, they are using Brick’s to focus, and dog park culture: it’s not a free petting zoo for kids (drama). (They aren’t beating the anti-natalists’ accusations in this one.)
Most importantly, they remember Kirk Corsello, a huge loss to the Atlanta peloton, and how the bike connects the community.