“The pace of change has never been this fast, yet it will never be this slow again.” – Justin Trudeau
Throughout history, humans have always struggled with adapting to change. Our minds are wired to create routines and habits that allow us to navigate our lives in a predictable way. However, despite this need for stability, we constantly search for new experiences and innovations. This paradox is most evident in our development of and resistance to new technologies. We have thousands of years of experience doubting the very advances that have brought us to where we are today.
When the first printing press was developed in the 15th century, many feared it would lead to job losses and financial ruin. In fact, many presses were destroyed by scribes in protest, and book merchants were chased out of towns. The telephone’s invention caused concerns that it would remove the need for face-to-face meetings. There was also a genuine fear that the disembodied voices would send people mad.
We nearly always resist change when it is first thrust upon us, but we nearly always adopt and adapt to make it work for us. Which brings us to the rapid rise of AI and LLMs. And rapid in a way that we have never experienced before.
To put the adoption rate into some perspective, it took Netflix some 18 years to reach 100 million users, and it took Facebook 4.5 years to get to 100 million. Compare these to Chat GPT where it took just two months to sign up 100 million users. And Chat GPT is just one of the growing stable of Generative A.I. applications and tools currently available.
While AI is becoming an indispensable part of the modern workplace, revolutionising the way we work and offering significant benefits, many workers are still uncertain about how it will help or hurt their jobs. A 2025 Salesforce–Morning Consult global survey found fewer than half of employed adults (48%) felt their workplace was prepared to use AI tools in daily work. A late‑2025 worker survey (AudienceNet / JFF) found only about one‑third of workers (39%) were optimistic about AI’s impact on workers, down roughly 10 percentage points from 2024, and 47% said they needed to develop new skills because of AI.
The Foundation Of Your AI Change Management Strategy
An increasing focus on trust and transparency has been identified as the trend that would have the greatest impact on an organisation’s success, both this year and in the next three years. A high-trust culture is a workplace where trust-based relationships are highly valued. Initially, trusting workplace relationships are built and nurtured between leaders and employees. However, a trust-based approach also has a notable impact on customers, investors, and the community at large, which further drives experiences of pride and camaraderie.
While engagement metrics primarily look at employee sentiment at a point in time, trust measures are based on the drivers of employee attitudes, proving to be more predictive. In 30 years of research, we’ve found that employees experience high levels of trust in the workplace when they:
- Believe leaders are credible (i.e., competent, communicative, honest)
- Believe they are treated with respect as people and professionals
- Believe the workplace is fundamentally fair
Our data from over 100 million employees also shows that high-trust workplaces see larger returns to the bottom line, higher levels of innovation, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and organisational agility. Leaders who care deeply about their business’s financial well-being should prioritise building a high-trust company culture.
Across the world, Great Place to Work® has studied and recognised organisations with high-trust cultures, partly through our Best Workplaces™ lists. For these companies, a defining feature of being recognised as a great workplace is a high level of organisation-wide trust, as reported by employees.
This research, along with findings from various independent research groups, illustrate that high levels of trust can be a critical strategic advantage for organisations across industries, sizes, and locations.
Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place To Work, stresses the pivotal role trust has in binding employees and organisations together. More than an abstract concept, he says, trust is necessary for an environment where everyone feels valued and heard. The same goes for AI implementation.
“If I could create a backdrop for the world right now, I’d spell out the word trust as large as I could,” says Bush. “That’s what the conversation around AI and workplace dynamics is all about. Employees must understand how AI affects their workflows to fully embrace its potential, and this culture of trust must extend to building confidence in AI systems.”
High levels of trust create a conducive environment for organisational change by promoting transparency, collaboration, resilience, and innovation, ultimately leading to successful outcomes and sustainable growth.
Companies like Adobe, for example, stand out among the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For because of their employee-centric approaches to AI. Adobe actively involves employees in the testing of new capabilities powered by Firefly, its family of generative AI models.
Prior to the beta launch of Firefly, the company conducted a voluntary employee session addressing the ethical aspects of generative AI, attracting thousands of attendees and showcasing substantial employee interest and investment in issues surrounding responsible AI innovation. With 75% of employees reporting that they would be more accepting about AI if their companies were more forthcoming about how they are using AI, greater transparency and collaboration seems to be the way to increase trust between employees and their companies.
“When employees trust the intentions behind AI, they are more likely to embrace and collaborate with it. Companies on our list have worked very hard to have a high trust level with their employees,” says Bush. “Change can make people fear the unknown, but they won’t panic about their job safety and financial security if the foundation of trust already exists. Instead, they’ll want to learn more.”
Measuring the strength of attributes such as communication, integrity, caring, collaboration, and fairness provides insights into the level of trust within organisations and how any change initiatives, including the introduction of A.I., are likely to be perceived. Business leaders need to know if people are likely to focus on the risks or the opportunities? Will they feel empowered to be part of the exciting change or victims of someone else’s plans?
People Also Asked:
How does a high-trust culture influence successful AI integration?
Trust serves as the absolute foundation for navigating rapid technological change. When employees trust their leaders’ intentions and believe the workplace is fundamentally fair, they shift from fearing job loss to embracing new learning opportunities. High levels of organizational trust promote the transparency and collaboration necessary for employees to test and adopt new tools without panic. According to Great Place To Work research, this environment ultimately drives higher levels of innovation, stability, and sustainable business growth.
How can leaders build the trust needed to support AI change management?
Leaders must prioritise transparency, open communication, and direct employee involvement. Strategies include openly discussing how AI affects workflows and inviting employees to participate in testing new capabilities, much like Adobe did with its generative AI models. Engaging employees directly addresses their immediate concerns and builds psychological safety. Data shows that 75% of workers become more accepting of AI when their companies clearly communicate how the technology will be utilised.
