AI talent drain: Why your most productive, tech-savvy employees are eyeing the exit
Here’s data that’s sure to get the attention of HR leaders: The employees delivering your biggest AI-driven productivity gains are twice as likely to quit as everyone else.
A new study by the Upwork Research Institute, the research arm of the remote job platform Upwork, reveals that nearly 9 in 10 top AI performers are burned out and eyeing the exits. Meanwhile, more than two-thirds say they trust the technology more than they do their coworkers — with 64% finding machines to be more polite and empathetic.
AI is “unlocking speed and scale but also reshaping how we collaborate and connect as humans,” said Kelly Monahan, managing director of the Upwork Research Institute. “The productivity paradox we’re seeing may be a natural growing pain of traditional work systems, ones that reward output with AI, but overlook the human relationships behind that work.”
According to the study, based on the perspectives of 2,500 workers globally, the emotional dimension around AI runs deeper than many employers may realize. Nearly half of those surveyed say “please” and “thank you” with every request they submit to AI, while 87% phrase their requests as if speaking to a human—an anthropomorphizing of AI tools indicating that employees are forming more genuine emotional connections with their digital assistants than with their colleagues.
Colin Rocker, a content creator specializing in career development, makes the point that “AI will always be the most agreeable coworker, but we have to also be mindful that it’s a system that, by nature, will agree with and amplify whatever is said to it.”
The study also revealed a disconnect between individual AI adoption and organizational strategy. While employees are racing ahead with AI integration, 62% of high-performing AI users say they don’t understand how their daily AI use aligns with company goals. That misalignment creates a dangerous scenario where the most productive employees feel isolated from the broader organizational mission, even as they’re delivering exceptional results.
The contrast with freelancers is illuminating, meanwhile. Unlike full-time employees, independent contractors appear to thrive alongside AI, with nearly nine in 10 reporting a positive impact on their work. These workers use AI primarily as a learning partner, with 90% saying it helps them acquire new skills faster and 42% crediting it with helping them specialize in a particular niche — suggesting that the problem is not technology itself but, rather, how it’s being integrated into traditional organizational structures.
Ultimately, the survey suggests, the path to sustainable, AI-empowered businesses requires reimagining work as a collaboration between the technology and the people who use it; cultivating flexible and resilient talent ecosystems; and redefining AI strategies around relationships, emerging AI roles and responsible governance.
To lead effectively in the age of AI, Monahan suggests that employers “need to redesign work in ways that support not just efficiency but also well-being, trust and long-term resilience.”