2026: A Year of Uncertainty and Anxiety in Talent Development

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2026 will be one of organizational uncertainty and AI recalibration. These two issues are creating anxiety among employees. Managing a workplace filled with anxiety and uncertainty will require focus and attention on “soft” skills . More than ever, the quality of employee-to-employee relationships will be critical to organizational success.

2026 will be one of organizational uncertainty and AI recalibration. These two issues are creating anxiety among employees. Managing a workplace filled with anxiety and uncertainty will require focus and attention on “soft” skills. More than ever, the quality of employee-to-employee relationships will be critical to organizational success.

International Uncertainty Leads to Organizational Uncertainty

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Global organizations will be face increased challenges in having geographically dispersed teams working together. International uncertainty doesn’t pause at the office door. The threatened breakup of NATO will affect multinational organizations that are trying to maintain a culture of trust and trying to reinforce their own organizational cultures. Imagine an international team of employees from Denmark, the United States, and Columbia or Brazil attempting to work together during an international incident. Global teams already operate under a series of obstacles including time-zone differences, language nuances, and differing cultural expectations. Geopolitical tensions add an emotionally charged variable.

Global organizations will be face increased challenges in having geographically dispersed teams working together. International uncertainty doesn’t pause at the office door. The threatened breakup of NATO will affect multinational organizations that are trying to maintain a culture of trust and trying to reinforce their own organizational cultures. Imagine an international team of employees from Denmark, the United States, and Columbia or Brazil attempting to work together during an international incident. Global teams already operate under a series of obstacles including time-zone differences, language nuances, and differing cultural expectations. Geopolitical tensions add an emotionally charged variable.

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Political tension doesn’t stay isolated; it leaks into Slack channels, video calls, emails, and trust between colleagues. We’re already seeing memes and social media commentary blaming everyday citizens for their governments’ actions, and that sentiment doesn’t magically disappear when people log into work or jump onto a video call.

Political tension doesn’t stay isolated; it leaks into Slack channels, video calls, emails, and trust between colleagues. We’re already seeing memes and social media commentary blaming everyday citizens for their governments’ actions, and that sentiment doesn’t magically disappear when people log into work or jump onto a video call.

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For organizations, this creates a new layer of uncertainty around how people relate to one another, affecting productivity. Managers, supervisors, and executives will need to actively design for communication, empathy, and shared purpose across borders, rather than assuming professionalism or workplace etiquette will carry the day. If teams are left to “just figure it out,” misunderstandings harden, collaboration slows, and psychological safety erodes. Studies show that depression and anxiety , which result from political uncertainty, aggression, and unrest, undermine organizational productivity.

For organizations, this creates a new layer of uncertainty around how people relate to one another, affecting productivity. Managers, supervisors, and executives will need to actively design for communication, empathy, and shared purpose across borders, rather than assuming professionalism or workplace etiquette will carry the day. If teams are left to “just figure it out,” misunderstandings harden, collaboration slows, and psychological safety erodes. Studies show that depression and anxiety, which result from political uncertainty, aggression, and unrest, undermine organizational productivity.

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Organizations in 2026 need to actively manage for this environment. They will need to create programs that treat psychological safety as a strategic capability rather than a “nice-to-have.” Programs to recognize stress signals, encourage respectful disagreement and discussion, and create space for concerns without letting meetings turn into political battlegrounds need to be put in place.

Organizations in 2026 need to actively manage for this environment. They will need to create programs that treat psychological safety as a strategic capability rather than a “nice-to-have.” Programs to recognize stress signals, encourage respectful disagreement and discussion, and create space for concerns without letting meetings turn into political battlegrounds need to be put in place.

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Special attention should be given to managers and those supervising others. Organizations will need to create guidance for handling tensions in meetings, addressing inappropriate comments, and supporting team members under stress . It cannot be assumed that managers will just naturally know what to do. They are under the same stress and have the same concerns.

Special attention should be given to managers and those supervising others. Organizations will need to create guidance for handling tensions in meetings, addressing inappropriate comments, and supporting team members under stress. It cannot be assumed that managers will just naturally know what to do. They are under the same stress and have the same concerns.

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But geopolitical pressure is not the only source of anxiety in the 2026 workplace.

But geopolitical pressure is not the only source of anxiety in the 2026 workplace.

AI Backlash

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Last year started off with enthusiastic endorsements of all things AI, including generative AI and AI agents . It was to herald a new age of productivity, customer satisfaction, and increased earnings, enabling companies to lay off thousands of employees without missing a beat.

Last year started off with enthusiastic endorsements of all things AI, including generative AI and AI agents. It was to herald a new age of productivity, customer satisfaction, and increased earnings, enabling companies to lay off thousands of employees without missing a beat.

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The reality did not live up to the hype.

The reality did not live up to the hype.

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Customers are not satisfied with AI interactions or the output of AI-assisted systems, companies are not universally seeing bottom-line results from large-scale AI projects, and employees are increasingly uneasy about job security, which negatively affects organizational productivity.

Customers are not satisfied with AI interactions or the output of AI-assisted systems, companies are not universally seeing bottom-line results from large-scale AI projects, and employees are increasingly uneasy about job security, which negatively affects organizational productivity.

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Salesforce, one of the world’s largest enterprise software firms, announced at the end of 2025 that it was pulling back from its heavy reliance on large language models after encountering reliability issues and a loss of confidence in the output. Some of the executives at Salesforce made public statements indicating that confidence in generative AI has fallen sharply over the past year. In another example, the language-learning app Duolingo faced a wave of negative sentiment on social media after announcing it would replace some of its course development partners with an AI-first approach.

Salesforce, one of the world’s largest enterprise software firms, announced at the end of 2025 that it was pulling back from its heavy reliance on large language models after encountering reliability issues and a loss of confidence in the output. Some of the executives at Salesforce made public statements indicating that confidence in generative AI has fallen sharply over the past year. In another example, the language-learning app Duolingo faced a wave of negative sentiment on social media after announcing it would replace some of its course development partners with an AI-first approach.

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Additionally, there have been several high-profile news stories about legal firms, consultancies, academics, and healthcare organizations encountering problems due to AI hallucinations . AI is just making up references, quotes, and even legal precedents. This has led to a new term being coined, “AI Slop,” which is not a term of endearment. In fact, the term slop refers to AI-generated, low-quality output. The term has become so popular that Merriam-Webster named it the word of the year.

Additionally, there have been several high-profile news stories about legal firms, consultancies, academics, and healthcare organizations encountering problems due to AI hallucinations. AI is just making up references, quotes, and even legal precedents. This has led to a new term being coined, “AI Slop,” which is not a term of endearment. In fact, the term slop refers to AI-generated, low-quality output. The term has become so popular that Merriam-Webster named it the word of the year.

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Slop occurs when the output appears polished and well-written, but underneath it lacks depth, context, and even cohesiveness. This has negatively affected the talent development world. Organizations have tried to replace corporate communications and instructional design with AI outputs. Employees lose confidence and trust in management and executives when it seems communications are AI-written (as do customers). Yes, it’s easier and faster than ever to create ten multiple-choice questions, but are they any good? Is it helping the employee? How much time does the instructional designer spend fixing the distractors?

Slop occurs when the output appears polished and well-written, but underneath it lacks depth, context, and even cohesiveness. This has negatively affected the talent development world. Organizations have tried to replace corporate communications and instructional design with AI outputs. Employees lose confidence and trust in management and executives when it seems communications are AI-written (as do customers). Yes, it’s easier and faster than ever to create ten multiple-choice questions, but are they any good? Is it helping the employee? How much time does the instructional designer spend fixing the distractors?

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But it’s not just AI generating content—the age of the AI agent has hit some major roadblocks as well. An academic paper released in May of 2025 by researchers at Carnegie Mellon and Duke University indicated that AI agents could reliably and autonomously complete only 30 percent of assigned tasks, and that the tasks completed were simpler, while more difficult, long-horizon tasks were beyond the reach of current systems. In fact, Gartner , a global research and advisory firm, predicts more than 40 percent of agentic AI projects will be canceled by the end of 2027 due to the desired results not being achieved.

But it’s not just AI generating content—the age of the AI agent has hit some major roadblocks as well. An academic paper released in May of 2025 by researchers at Carnegie Mellon and Duke University indicated that AI agents could reliably and autonomously complete only 30 percent of assigned tasks, and that the tasks completed were simpler, while more difficult, long-horizon tasks were beyond the reach of current systems. In fact, Gartner, a global research and advisory firm, predicts more than 40 percent of agentic AI projects will be canceled by the end of 2027 due to the desired results not being achieved.

Don’t Arrange the AI Funeral Just Yet

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This doesn’t mean AI is going away. It is here to stay, but in 2026, organizations will need to figure out how to put the human in the loop to avoid costly mistakes and expedite workflow processes. It is often said that “AI failures are not technology failures, they are human failures.” That’s not entirely true (hallucinations are AI failures), but releasing unchecked, unedited AI work to a customer or group of learners IS a human failure. Organizations need to learn to work with AI systems and figure out how humans and AI best work together to achieve organizational goals.

This doesn’t mean AI is going away. It is here to stay, but in 2026, organizations will need to figure out how to put the human in the loop to avoid costly mistakes and expedite workflow processes. It is often said that “AI failures are not technology failures, they are human failures.” That’s not entirely true (hallucinations are AI failures), but releasing unchecked, unedited AI work to a customer or group of learners IS a human failure. Organizations need to learn to work with AI systems and figure out how humans and AI best work together to achieve organizational goals.

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Some organizations are starting to figure this out. Despite the social media backlash, Duolingo generated more than a billion dollars in revenue and still hit the lower end of its growth projections. Successful organizations determine what AI is allowed to do within workflows and what it should not do. Too many organizations lack AI policies or governance, and even when they do, they fail to explain or articulate the “why” behind the policy or governance in any meaningful way.

Some organizations are starting to figure this out. Despite the social media backlash, Duolingo generated more than a billion dollars in revenue and still hit the lower end of its growth projections. Successful organizations determine what AI is allowed to do within workflows and what it should not do. Too many organizations lack AI policies or governance, and even when they do, they fail to explain or articulate the “why” behind the policy or governance in any meaningful way.

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Organizations need to establish governance within the talent development department to ensure outputs such as high-risk communications, employee-facing content, learning materials, legal-adjacent guidance, and strategic decision making. Employees need to know when AI is acceptable and when it needs to be avoided. And, just as importantly, they need to determine the best methods for keeping a human in the output loop whenever AI is used.

Organizations need to establish governance within the talent development department to ensure outputs such as high-risk communications, employee-facing content, learning materials, legal-adjacent guidance, and strategic decision making. Employees need to know when AI is acceptable and when it needs to be avoided. And, just as importantly, they need to determine the best methods for keeping a human in the output loop whenever AI is used.

Re-Emphasis on Soft Skills

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All the above indicate that organizations in 2026 need to stop treating soft skills as optional or throwaway. In a work environment defined by anxiety, geopolitical tension, and AI recalibration, so-called soft skills are no longer “nice to have.” They are core operating skills. The ability to listen, regulate emotion, communicate with empathy, navigate disagreement, and build trust across differences is directly tied to productivity, retention, and performance.

All the above indicate that organizations in 2026 need to stop treating soft skills as optional or throwaway. In a work environment defined by anxiety, geopolitical tension, and AI recalibration, so-called soft skills are no longer “nice to have.” They are core operating skills. The ability to listen, regulate emotion, communicate with empathy, navigate disagreement, and build trust across differences is directly tied to productivity, retention, and performance.

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