Everyone’s talking about AI, but few are talking about what it’s really doing to our teams, our trust, and our sense of belonging at work.
I’ve been to many presentations and workshops around the topic of AI, and the same questions keep coming up: what does this wave of tech actually mean for us as humans? Is it really that different from the internet or mobile phone revolutions?
Every time, the story is that tech will replace us. But this time it definitely feels different.
Image: Steve Johnson, unsplash
Trust and resilience: the real shifts
AI isn’t just changing how we do things - it’s changing how people feel at work. Roles are shifting, decision-making is speeding up and team dynamics are being altered, which all impacts trust.
When I’m hearing, “We’ve rolled out the AI tools, redefined the workflows, automated a few things… but something doesn’t feel right”, there’s something else going on. And that’s not being talked about enough.
When people don’t fully understand something - like AI - it can feel like a threat and when people feel threatened, they often don’t push back… they go quiet. That can mean passive resistance and here’s how it can show up:
People nod in meetings… but they don’t follow through with commitments
Silence replaces challenge or curiosity
Energy drops. Ideas slow down. You feel it more than you hear it
Passive resistance isn’t loud but it’s definitely costly. These are often the first sights that trust is quietly eroding and engagement is dropping. Are these hidden challenges showing up in your team? I can help leaders like you create a culture of trust, rebuild emotional resilience, and confidently adapt to change when things need to shift.
The deeper cost - mattering
When trust starts to go, people start to ask whether they still matter, “Do I count?” and “Does what I do still mean anything?”
And that uncertainty can eat away at our emotional resilience - the thing we’re all being asked to draw on in the middle of so much change. But you don’t build resilience by asking for it - you build it when people know they’re trusted and that they still matter.
The data backs this up
According to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, 76% of employees trust their employer to do what’s right. Yet, 61% of respondents believe business and government serve only a select few, highlighting the fragility of trust during times of change. And trust is most at risk during periods of high transition and transformation.
So, if you’re investing in AI - or any tech - but not considering how your people feel about that change, you’re probably losing trust you don’t even realise you’ve lost.
What your people might really need right now
From the many conversations I’ve had about this recently, here are just a few of the questions I’m hearing:
“Will it take my job?”
“Is it cheating to use AI for this?”
“When should we use it - and when shouldn’t we?”
People aren’t just looking for the answers to these questions. They need space to reflect on what this all means and for connection across their teams to explore it. They need encouragement that builds trust and emotional resilience so they don’t just cope, they can confidently adapt.
So don’t treat AI as just another tech rollout. Treat it like what it really is: a transformation that demands human leadership more than ever.
Protect trust at all costs. That’s where resilience begins and where it can just as easily end.
I’d love to hear what you’re noticing. Sometimes, just naming what’s happening is the first step toward shifting it. Let’s talk.