According to Littler’s recently released “Annual Employer Survey report,” AI-related workplace policy and regulation surpassed DEI as the area most widely expected to impact businesses over the next 12 months, with 84% of respondents citing AI use in the workplace this year compared to 42% in 2025, while 38% selected DEI this year vs. 84% last year. Respondents also identified workplace data privacy policy and regulation as a significant expected area of impact, as shown here:
The survey also highlighted several workforce-related implications associated with the actual or anticipated increased use of AI in the workplace:
- 37% of organizations have reassessed or are reassessing job responsibilities, while another 37% are considering doing so.
- 20% have reduced hiring or are in the process of doing so, while 22% are considering it.
- 15% have reduced their workforce or are in the process of reductions, while 22% are considering workforce reductions.
Additional topics covered in the report include AI governance and litigation risk, workplace accommodations and mental health-related leave requests, immigration-related workforce planning, hybrid work arrangements, labor regulation, and trade secret and employee mobility concerns.
The survey was conducted in March 2026 among 303 US based in-house legal, HR, and other business professionals across company sizes and industries.
See “Employers ‘still playing catch-up’ on AI risk management, Littler report finds” (HR Dive) and additional resources on our Human Capital page.
This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!