Laura Aghedo on AI at Work: Workforce Trends and Real Ways to Reduce Stress

AI and the Workforce: Practical Guidance for HR, with Insights from Laura Aghedo

Laura Aghedo, a Chartered Human Resources professional with expertise in organisational behaviour, workplace psychology, and employee wellbeing, shares clear advice on two fronts: how AI is changing workforce trends and how employees can reduce workplace stress. The goal is simple-protect people, boost performance, and keep work human.

What AI Is Changing in Workforce Trends

• Role redesign: AI strips routine tasks from many roles. Jobs don't disappear as much as they shift. Expect more emphasis on judgment, context, and relationships.
• Skills shift: Demand increases for problem framing, data literacy, prompt writing, and ethical decision-making. Soft skills become the differentiator.
• Productivity gaps: Teams that adopt AI well pull ahead. Those without guidance stall. HR needs clear enablement, not just access to tools.
• Trust and transparency: Employees want to know how AI affects performance reviews, data use, and job security. Silence creates fear; clarity builds buy-in.
• New governance: Policies must cover data privacy, bias risks, output review, and accountability. Good guardrails speed up adoption.

A 90-Day HR Action Plan

• Weeks 1-2: Audit work - Identify top 10 repeatable tasks by function. Mark what can be automated or assisted. Agree on "human-in-the-loop" checks.
• Weeks 3-4: Skills map - Define the core AI-adjacent skills each role needs. Build a simple matrix: current level, target level, training path.
• Weeks 5-8: Pilot - Run 2-3 small pilots (e.g., drafting job descriptions, summarising meetings, first-pass data analysis). Measure time saved and error rates.
• Weeks 9-10: Policy - Publish a short, plain-language AI use policy and review process. Cover data handling, confidentiality, and acceptable use.
• Weeks 11-12: Rollout - Scale what worked. Provide quickstart guides, office hours, and a feedback channel. Celebrate early wins.

Reducing Workplace Stress: What Actually Works

Stress spikes when workloads feel unclear, tools feel forced, or performance expectations shift without support. AI can help or hurt, depending on how it's introduced.

• Fix capacity, not just resilience: Measure workload with simple weekly capacity checks. Rebalance before burnout hits.
• Create focus time: Block no-meeting windows. Standardise meeting lengths (25/50 minutes) and agendas. Treat attention like budget.
• Set AI norms: Define which tasks should start with AI and which require human-first effort. Remove guesswork.
• Manager enablement: Train managers to coach through change, run workload reviews, and spot early burnout signals.
• Access to care: Ensure employees know how to reach mental health support, and make it stigma-free.

Micro-habits Employees Can Use Today

• Daily triage: 3 tasks, one priority. Use AI for first drafts and summaries, then refine.
• Energy mapping: Do deep work during peak energy, admin during dips. Protect one 60-90 minute focus block.
• Boundary scripts: Agree on response-time norms. Use status updates and async notes to reduce Slack/Email churn.
• Digital hygiene: Close feeds during focus. Batch messages 2-3 times a day.
• Recovery: Short walks, water, and a hard stop time. Performance follows recovery.

Metrics HR Should Track

• Adoption: % of teams using approved AI workflows.
• Time saved: Hours saved per function per month; reinvestment in higher-value work.
• Quality: Error rates, rework, compliance incidents.
• Wellbeing: Burnout risk scores, sick days, eNPS, turnover in critical roles.
• Fairness: Monitor for bias in AI-assisted decisions and outputs.

Policy Lines You Can Adapt

• Confidentiality: Do not paste sensitive or personal data into public AI tools. Use approved systems only.
• Attribution: All AI-assisted work must be reviewed and owned by a human. You are responsible for the final output.
• Bias and safety: Check outputs for factual accuracy, bias, and compliance. Flag issues through the standard incident channel.
• Transparency: Disclose AI assistance when required by clients, regulators, or internal policy.
• Use cases: Start with drafting, summarising, research assistance, and basic analysis. Avoid autonomous decisions without approval.

Upskilling That Pays Off

Give people practical, role-specific training and repeatable workflows. Pair quick lessons with live practice and templates.

• For structured learning by job role, see Courses by Job - Complete AI Training.
• To keep skills current, browse the Latest AI Courses.

Helpful References

• CIPD: Artificial Intelligence at Work
• WHO: Mental Health at Work

Bottom Line

AI changes how work gets done. HR's edge is thoughtful role redesign, clear policies, and real support for wellbeing. Start small, measure honestly, and scale what proves useful-your people will feel the difference, and your results will show it.