Will the rise of AI skills mean less focus on engagement?
October 30, 2025
As AI adoption accelerates in Canadian workplaces, new data is revealing both opportunities and risks for HR leaders.For example, nearly three in 10 employed Canadians are now using AI tools at work, yet almost half (44%) of those users have not received any formal training. Similarly, ADP research finds that 43% of workers surveyed use AI frequently on the job, while an almost equal amount (42%) use it rarely or not at all. These findings line up with an issue emerging in Canada: employees are outpacing their organizations in adopting new technologies, according to Wendy Cukier, professor and academic director of the Diversity Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University.
New way to measure employee engagement
The distinction is important for HR professionals to understand, says Cukier; this data may indicate a significant shift in how engagement and employee success is measured in organizations. Engagement has traditionally been linked to social connection and teamwork, she explains, but research is revealing that a significant portion of high-performing employees prefer independent work, especially when empowered by AI tools. “Most employers are looking for social and emotional intelligence and so on. The reality is those notions are quite gendered, ethnically-defined and neurotypical,” Cukier points out. “There are a lot of ‘norms’ around interpersonal relationships, teams, collaboration, and so on, that can actually exclude really creative, entrepreneurial, smart people who are more independent-minded.”
Cukier identifies the potential for AI use to increase productivity – and the associated need to acknowledge a different type of top performer that technology is elevating in organizations. This idea relates to the recent push by many employers to get workers back to in-person work with mandated office time, Cukier adds. “AI is enabling people to do more with less, and if there’s a huge focus on productivity,” she says, adding that top AI-users may derive satisfaction from problem-solving and innovation rather than interpersonal relationships. “Some organizations are really pushing the back to work mandate because they think the ‘being in-office personal relationships’ are really important. But maybe they’re wrong.”
