Human Capital Intel - 8/20/25
Gen Z’s AI momentum | Mega-employers fade | Face-to-face returns | CEOs crack down on culture | Worker analytics
Welcome to the latest edition of Human Capital Intelligence, your weekly brief synthesizing over 250 leadership, HR, and people sources to filter out the noise. As always, we would love to hear from you at ken@reyvism.com with questions you’d like answered or topics covered.
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By Ken Stibler; Powered by Reyvism Analytics
GenZ find their value prop in AI…if CEOs can lead them
Generation Z is charging ahead on AI, but they don’t trust their bosses to see the value. Surveys show younger workers are more likely than any other age group to experiment with banned AI tools, pay for training out of pocket, and demand “growth mindset” roles that emphasize continuous learning. They are already reshaping the labor market, with job searches for positions offering learning and development benefits up 240% since January. Yet their eagerness to embrace AI comes with hesitation: nearly half say they fear replacement and most admit they don’t disclose AI use to their managers.
The friction is not about skills. Two-thirds of Gen Z workers report having taught themselves how to use AI tools, often for practical tasks like summarizing notes, brainstorming, or coding. What worries them is the lack of clarity from leadership. One in three younger workers say their company has no AI policy or that they don’t know what it is. Even among companies with guidelines, enforcement is weak. Forty-five percent of workers admit to using banned tools on the job, with many saying they would knowingly violate policy to meet deadlines.
For CEOs, the challenge is not just controlling risk but demonstrating vision. The Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI finds that human-centered skills like problem solving, collaboration, and communication will only grow in demand as automation accelerates. Younger employees already understand this, and they expect leaders to create environments where AI complements rather than replaces human value. If companies limit AI to compliance frameworks while ignoring learning opportunities, they risk losing the very generation that is most fluent in the new tools.
This tension points to a widening digital divide in the workplace. Executives tend to receive more structured AI training than frontline employees, creating a power imbalance in who sets direction and who experiments in the shadows. For leaders, the way forward is not about banning or ignoring AI, but about building coherent pathways for growth that connect corporate priorities with individual ambition. Gen Z may be the most AI-native generation, but whether they become a liability or an advantage will depend on how CEOs harness their momentum.
…and here’s why those AI skills are so important
Layoffs are reshaping the labor market, and AI is playing a bigger role than most executives admit. Nearly 80% of HR leaders oversaw “serial layoffs” in the past year, with many organizations cutting in multiple rounds. More than half of industries are already shedding workers, echoing the patterns that preceded previous recessions. Executives cite tariffs, inflation, and economic uncertainty, but behind closed doors many acknowledge that AI is reducing their need for large white-collar teams.
The scale of potential cuts is striking. Live Data estimates that Microsoft alone could eliminate 36% of its current workload if it fully automated AI-suitable tasks, equivalent to 80,000 jobs. Ford’s CEO has said AI could wipe out half of white-collar roles, while Klarna reports its headcount has already fallen 40% thanks to AI adoption. Even if not every projection comes to pass, the trajectory is clear: the century-old model of the mega-employer is giving way to leaner companies with fewer layers of staff.
This shift presents a double bind. Smaller firms and startups may thrive with streamlined teams, but workers lose long-term career pathways once offered by big employers. Fewer training opportunities and diminished job security will hit early-career employees hardest, just as their roles face the greatest risk of automation. Unless leaders channel AI toward creating new lines of business instead of simply cutting costs, the gains will accrue to shareholders while leaving workers stuck in a cycle of churn.
Quote of the Week: Workflows without the workers
“The only time I need a human is to put the laptop in a box, slap on the shipping label, and drop it at the receiving store to be shipped out. The other one is when the laptop comes back, they check it back in.”
—Stanley Toh, Broadcom’s head of enterprise end-user services and experience on the company’s automated IT life cycle management platform
Reading List:
CEOs tighten culture - pragmatic move or attempting to feel in control?
From AT&T to Cognition, CEOs are openly redefining workplace culture with mandates for longer hours and less flexibility, Axios reports. Leaders frame it as a productivity push, but underlying fears of economic uncertainty and AI disruption are evident. Glassdoor’s Daniel Zhao notes that tough rhetoric often signals anxiety rather than strength. The risk: alienating talent in a labor market where nearly half of workers say they would quit if forced back to the office full time.
Return to face-to-face starts as AI breaks down digital signals
As AI tools infiltrate the hiring process, companies are rediscovering the value of in-person interviews, the WSJ reports. Recruiters say candidates increasingly lean on AI to answer technical questions or even impersonate themselves in virtual settings. Cisco, McKinsey, and Google have reinstated face-to-face interviews to filter out digital fraud and better assess rapport, coding skills, and problem-solving under pressure. In a world of deepfakes and AI-aided cheating, analog solutions are regaining ground.
Next-gen labor analytics
PwC’s “traffic-light” dashboard now tracks employee attendance via pass swipes, WiFi data, and HR systems, flagging staff in amber or red if they miss office quotas, the Financial Times reported. The system reflects a broader shift as firms try to enforce hybrid policies more rigorously. While PwC argues the tool supports transparency, staff complaints highlight the tension between “trust and empowerment” messaging and closer digital monitoring.
Data Point: The trough of disillusionment
80%
Number of companies which report seeing “no significant bottom-line impact” from AI spending. With 42% of companies dropped AI efforts last year despite $62 billion in total spend, according to S&P Global.
According to Gartner, The AI hype cycle may be entering “the trough of disillusionment,” the low point in the evolution of new tech that precedes a long, slow climb into actual productivity.
In Other News
Is your overly complicated application process driving away your hottest talent prospects? (WorkLife)
No More Offshore. Startups Look to Spend and Hire in U.S. Due to Trump Tax Change. (Wall Street Journal)
Workers are stressed about finances — and they say it’s affecting their productivity. (HR Dive)
Why workplace loneliness is the next mental health crisis. (Employee Benefits News)
The new American workplace crisis: Return-to-office mandates lead to a working mom exodus. (Fortune)