monday.com’s take on the latest work trends - sent on Tuesdays.
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Inside this issue
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- Workplace trends
- The AI corner
- Creating AI clarity on your team
- Question of the week
- Just for laughs
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Follow the monday.com weekly on LinkedIn
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Workplace trends
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Retirement
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Gen Z is winning in retirement savings
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Younger employees are quietly building stronger retirement foundations than older generations. Nearly half of workers aged 24-28 are projected to maintain their current standard of living in retirement, compared to just 40% of baby boomers approaching retirement, according to investment firm Vanguard Research. The younger generation's advantage comes from expanded access to employer retirement plans with features like auto-enrollment and automatic contribution increases. Meanwhile, the median baby boomer faces a retirement shortfall of roughly $9,000 annually and may need to work two additional years or tap home equity to cover expenses, the study found. The shift highlights how automatic savings tools are reshaping retirement readiness across generations.
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Wellness
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Weightloss drugs reshape the workplace
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More employers are offering weightloss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy as employee benefits. In the US, 43% of large companies now cover GLP-1 drugs in their health insurance plans, up from 28% the year before, according to health researcher KFF. The shift comes as roughly 12% of Americans have used these appetite-suppressing medications. Experts warn the trend could create new workplace judgment, particularly in appearance-focused sectors like fashion and retail, where using the medications might be perceived as taking a shortcut rather than demonstrating willpower.
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The AI corner
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Education
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AI is making us dumber
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Using AI chatbots to complete tasks may be weakening people's critical thinking abilities, according to new research from MIT. The study found that students who used ChatGPT to write essays showed less brain activity in areas linked to cognitive processing and couldn't recall their work as easily as those who wrote without AI. A study by Carnegie Mellon University and Microsoft found that greater confidence in AI tools correlated with less critical thinking effort, potentially leading to overreliance on AI and weaker problem-solving skills. As these students enter the workforce, employers may face a generation with diminished problem-solving abilities, raising questions about long-term workplace competency.
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Companionship
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AI companions claim to fill a loneliness void
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Mark Zuckerberg has publicly framed the gap between people’s actual friendships and their desired number of friends as a potential business opportunity for AI. That framing has been taken up across the tech industry, with a range of AI companion products launching in 2025, including apps such as ‘Friend’, which are designed to be highly attuned to users and to offer emotional support without judgment. Psychology experts caution that these AI companions function more like mirrors than actual companions. As the technology becomes more sophisticated, researchers emphasize that true companionship requires mutual empathy, something AI cannot provide regardless of its simulated understanding.
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Creating AI clarity on your team
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Experimentation with AI in 2025 led to some pretty compelling use cases. Now that teams have seen what’s possible, it’s time to move beyond experimentation and start systematizing AI in everyday workflows. The challenge is that some employees are still hesitant to use it.
While AI use is encouraged at many companies, some employees remain unsure about when it’s appropriate to use it or worry about brand or legal risks. Others are afraid of making mistakes or creating “AI slop” by relying on it too heavily. Our AI at Work Report found that employees even feel guilty about using AI, and directors at enterprise companies were nearly twice as likely to fear being judged.
AI uncertainty leads to uneven adoption across teams, leaving productivity and innovation on the table. As a leader, you can help remove the stigma around AI by creating clarity. When expectations are documented, shared, and revisited, employees don’t have to guess whether AI is allowed or appropriate. They know when to use it, how to use it, and where human judgment still matters most. Clear guidelines give your team accountability, pushing them out of their comfort zones with the confidence to work faster, think bigger, and innovate responsibly.
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So what should your AI guidelines include?
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The case for AI
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First, address the mindset around AI. Many employees need reassurance that AI is a tool for amplification, not replacement. Think about opening the conversation by drawing parallels to past technologies that were once controversial, but ultimately empowering, like Photoshop or spellcheck. Each new technology shifted how work was done, but none removed the need for human expertise. Remind your team that AI usage still requires judgment, creativity, and accountability. Framing it this way helps your employees see AI as a collaborator that expands their impact, rather than a shortcut that diminishes their value.
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Key question: “How will you position AI as a tool for human amplification, not substitution?”
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Clear uses for AI
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Consider and define where AI should absolutely be used and for what purpose. This might include meeting summaries, first-draft writing, code review suggestions, data analysis, or research synthesis. You can also clarify which tools your team should use for each task, especially if your organization provides approved, enterprise-grade AI tools with privacy protections and data safeguards. When teams know when to use AI and which platforms are secure and authorized, they’re far more likely to use it confidently and consistently.
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Key question: “Where should AI absolutely be used, and which approved tools best support each task?”
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Steps for using AI
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For high-impact use cases, create a document and spell out the workflow. For example, a marketing team creating a landing page might use AI to generate an initial draft based on brand guidelines and audience research, then have a writer refine the copy. An engineering team might use AI to suggest solutions or refactor code, with engineers validating logic, performance, and security before anything ships. As you create this workflow, try to be as explicit as possible about which steps involve AI and which do not. Clear steps remove ambiguity and reinforce where human ownership matters most.
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Key question: “What are the appropriate steps for using AI in your most common workflows?”
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Guardrails and legal clarity
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Fear around legal risk is real, so it’s important to address it head-on. Clearly outline what is and isn’t acceptable, including guidance around intellectual property, data privacy, and customer information. Partnering with legal or security teams to co-create these guidelines can help build trust and encourage adoption. You might even consider having someone from legal join the guidelines launch meeting to walk through the dos and don’ts of AI usage and answer questions in real time. When employees understand both the rules and the reasoning behind them, they’re far less likely to avoid AI out of uncertainty or fear.
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Key question: “How will you clearly define legal and compliance boundaries for AI usage?”
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Quality and accountability
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AI can move work faster, but speed should never come at the expense of quality. Your guidelines should reinforce that humans remain accountable for outcomes. This includes reviewing AI-generated outputs, validating facts, and ensuring work aligns with your brand, values, and goals. Think about creating a quality control checklist that your team can check off to make sure that each output follows the gold standard. This can include classic tell-tale signs of “AI slop,” so team members are sure those aren’t included in their deliverables. Having this human accountability can help your employees use AI responsibly while offering their strategic expertise and delivering their best work.
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Key question: “How will you reinforce human accountability while encouraging AI efficiency?”
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Space for innovation
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AI use cases are still evolving, and your team should feel encouraged to explore what’s possible. Create a framework for experimentation that explains how to test new ideas, document learnings, and share successful workflows with others. For example, you might introduce a lightweight “AI pilot” process where employees can propose a use case, run a short trial, and capture what worked, what didn’t, and where human review is required. Successful experiments can then be added to a shared library or playbook that others can reference and build on.
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Key question: “How will you encourage experimentation while maintaining clear standards?”
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Build an AI-confident team
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Empowering your team to use AI isn’t about tacking on more tools; it’s about choosing core work platforms that have AI baked in. When you try monday.com, you can also try our:
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AI assistant that gets work done for you - with the added context of your role, team, and goals in mind.
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Vibe coding tool to create any app imaginable in a few minutes. Say goodbye to single-purpose tools and connect your apps to your real work.
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Agents that work across any team to call, text, research, read, and schedule for you. So you can focus on your winning big-picture strategy.
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Curious to give monday.com’s AI capabilities a go in the new year?
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Water cooler chatter
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France has closed 186 ski resorts as warmer winters reduce snowfall. These "ghost resorts" are leaving behind contaminated infrastructure that's slowly leaking motor oils and asbestos into protected areas across the Alps. Research shows that if global temperatures rise by 2°C, more than half of existing ski resorts won't have enough snow to operate.
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"It was costing us more to keep it open than to keep it closed for the season."
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Michel Ricou-Charles, Local Authority Official
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A Missouri mom earns $200,000 yearly from YouTube videos with her 20 lifelike dolls. Her content features morning routines, shopping trips, and holiday celebrations with the Reborn Dolls, attracting over 30,000 subscribers. While online critics call her hobby "creepy," her primary audience is young girls under 12 who say her videos bring them comfort.
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"Are we, as a society, really that far gone that we watch grown men play video games, Dungeons & Dragons, dress up for Renaissance fairs and Civil War reenactments, but I'm being bashed for wanting to encourage my nurturing hobby?"
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Gina Kasoff, Content Creator
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Question of the week
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Last week’s answer: 42%
This week’s question: What percent of US workers say they're holding on to their jobs for stability or security as unemployment rises?
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Just for laughs
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