In 2027, the greatest barrier to realizing AI’s value will be mounting differences between what leaders imagine AI can do and what employees learn AI can actually do for their role. This tension between leadership and workforce expectations has always been with us, but AI amplifies it, opening a chasm between executives who embrace an AI-native vision of work and employees who must navigate its day-to-day realities. Leaders continue to increase expectations of efficiency gains while employees scramble to adopt tools (that don’t quite live up to the hype) and apply them to use cases that aren’t fully defined.

Those leaders who fail to invite true human engagement throughout this process will not get ROI. That makes 2027 the year when leaders must hold themselves accountable for bringing people and tech together in order to achieve the very real benefits of AI-powered work. Here are three of our predictions for next year.

Workplace AI monitoring will impair the initiative of a third of employees.

Workplace monitoring has been with us since at least the advent of the factory floor — long enough for scientists to study its effects on employee motivation and performance. When employees see it as punitive rather than intended to help them succeed, it measurably suppresses discretionary effort and experimenting, which great customer service and innovation depend on. Monitoring performed by AI intensifies this effect because it is perceived as not guided by human supervisor control. Smart leaders will simply avoid this by taking responsibility for AI monitoring, using it openly and only when it helps employees succeed in their roles.

Workers with top AIQ will get premium AI tools, creating an AI productivity gap.

Many AI strategies feel “cyberstuck,” spinning their wheels and not moving forward: Leaders invest in AI tools but don’t realize the benefits they seek. Even as 66% deploy AI embedded in productivity apps, only 32% say AI actually improved top-line productivity, according to Forrester’s State Of AI Survey, 2026. Indeed, despite intense investment and claims of AI-related innovation, there is no measurable impact on US productivity growth. It’s not the tech — it’s the lack of focus on people and process that the tools require. Take responsibility for AI productivity by investing in comprehensive learning and deploying AI for specific tasks, not to replace entire jobs.

One in 10 enterprises will face AI backlash, leading to malicious compliance.

Currently, 18% of the workforce is actively disengaged; they’re not quiet quitters but potentially malicious actors. As employers continue to tell Wall Street of AI’s great potential, bragging that they have or will lay people off as a result, some of these malicious actors won’t leave; instead, they’ll revert to malicious compliance. One in 10 large firms will suffer consequences from active sabotage by employees simply deciding to do exactly what they’re told with AI even when they know it doesn’t work. Leaders, keep the connection to a shared purpose clear in how you message AI investment, before employees act on their suspicion that what’s good for the company is bad for them.

Forrester clients can read our full Predictions 2027: The Future Of Work report to see more data supporting these three predictions, as well as read additional predictions concerning the impact of AI on employer-employee relationships. Want to prioritize human engagement as you navigate 2027? Schedule a guidance session with any of the contributors of this report based on the subtopic that you want to apply to your organization.

If you aren’t a client yet, download our complimentary Predictions guides and access additional complimentary resources, including webinars, on the Predictions 2027 hub.

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