Esther Smith

Esther Smith

26 posts
  • Meta AI Adoption Revealed: Behind the curtain at Meta, 3 ways AI is already changing work

    Meta AI adoption has gone from encouragement to expectation in a year. The company has reorganised thousands of jobs around AI and pushed employees to become AI-native. It has started testing an autonomous agent called Hatch. And its AI chief, Alexandr Wang, has just moved everyone’s internal conversations from Google Chat to Slack.

  • Close-up of a diverse team stacking hands on an office desk, symbolizing teamwork.

    The experience gap is also a trust gap

    Young workers are told they need experience before they can be trusted with responsibility. But without trust, feedback and a chance to try, where is that experience supposed to come from?

  • Businesswoman presenting to attentive audience in a modern office.

    AI use is rising. Access to learning is falling.

    PwC’s 2026 Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey finds AI adoption is accelerating while fewer workers can access the development they need — widening the gap between employees already benefiting from AI and those still trying to catch up. AI adoption at work is moving faster than employee development. PwC’s 2026 Global Workforce Hopes and…

  • Autistic or ADHD? 5 questions to ask before your next job interview

    Job interviews can reward fast answers, social fluency and comfort with ambiguity as much as they test whether somebody can do the job. For autistic and ADHD candidates, a few questions in advance can help make the process fairer — and more useful for the employer too. Interviews are stressful for plenty of people. But…

  • HR AI is moving from answering questions to running the workflow

    50skills has raised $6 million after customers automated millions of people-process actions. The more interesting story is what happens when AI stops assisting HR and starts executing the work.

  • HeadFirst Global becomes Vertage – but the bigger shift is from headcount to outcomes

    The EUR10 billion workforce group is uniting 11 operating businesses under one brand and platform. Its more ambitious bet is that companies will increasingly define the work they need done first, then use a mix of specialist talent and AI agents to deliver it.

  • Is time running out for the employee engagement survey?

    Employee engagement surveys have dominated HR for decades. Culture15 founder Charlie Coode argues behaviour may be a better measure for the AI era.

  • Everyone is talking about AI. Here are five things I heard at James Poulter’s book launch that stuck with me

    On a Thursday evening in a small independent bookshop in Shoreditch, I went to hear James Poulter launch AI at Work. There was plenty about what AI can do. But the most interesting questions were about what happens to us. Everyone is talking about AI. Most of us are using it, too. Yet when James Poulter asked…

  • Neurodiversity at Work Has an Awkward Truth: The Problem Is Often the Work

    Neurodiversity at work has become much more visible. The lanyards, awareness weeks, employee networks and leadership statements are all there. Yet the everyday experience of work has not improved at the same pace. That is the uncomfortable message running through the Neurodiversity in Business Research Report 2026, produced by Birkbeck, University of London and Neurodiversity in…

  • Caucasian woman with eyeglasses holding US dollar bills, to signify a paycheck being higher for london weighting

    London Weighting and Location-Based Pay: Why Geography Raises Some Salaries and Discounts Others

    London weighting pays a premium for working in the capital. But as other cities become more expensive and work goes global, does location-based pay still make sense?

  • Close-up of a smartphone with AI chat interface, saying 'how can I help' to symbolise workplace wellbeing shifting with technology.

    Workers trust an AI chatbot more than your workplace wellbeing programme

    New data: workers hide distress and confide in AI chatbots instead. What that means for your workplace wellbeing programme, and six actions for HR leaders.

  • Happy businesswoman carrying belongings and plant into a modern office.

    Valon’s AI onboarding rule: AI banned until new starters learn the job

    An AI company has cut AI access for most new hires until managers judge them competent. What Valon’s AI onboarding decision means for L&D and induction design.

Most Read

Advertisement