Transforming Work: Gartner’s AI Predictions Through 2029

What if AI could replace half of your management team, monitor employee moods, and challenge executive decisions—all by 2029? These and other bold predictions from Gartner intrigued me, prompting an in-depth conversation with Daryl Plummer, managing vice president, chief of research, and chief fellow at Gartner, about the transformative impact of AI.

Artificial intelligence isn’t just reshaping the business landscape—it’s redefining how organizations operate, make decisions, and manage talent. Plummer’s predictions reveal both opportunities and challenges for HR leaders. During our conversation, we focused on five that would involve HR the most. For each prediction below, I explore how HR leaders can respond proactively, balancing technological innovation with human-centric strategies to drive organizational success and employee well-being.

Throughout my conversation with Plummer, one thing became unmistakably clear: As organizations integrate AI, maintaining transparency, fostering trust, and adhering to ethical frameworks will be essential for sustainable adoption and meaningful employee engagement.

Gartner Prediction: The Flattening of Organizations (Through 2026)

Gartner predicts that “through 2026, 20% of organizations will use AI to flatten their structures, eliminating more than half of current middle management positions.” This transformation represents a fundamental shift in how organizations think about work and operational capacity, moving far beyond reducing costs to reimagining organizational design.

“The nature of work will change because we can throw more scale at it than ever before,” explained Plummer. He cited NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s plan to deploy 100 million AI assistants alongside merely 50,000 human employees as a groundbreaking example of how AI can enable organizations to rethink scale and structure.

The traditional corporate hierarchy—designed for manual information flow through layers of management—is rapidly becoming obsolete. Plummer described the current role of middle managers: “A large portion of their work involves reading reports, analyzing data, and translating information between layers of the organization. AI can do all of that instantly and more accurately.”

This shift not only reduces the need for hierarchical oversight but also redistributes decision-making power and enhances organizational agility. Gartner anticipates the rise of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs)—entities that function programmatically through smart contracts. 

“These are entities that can be entirely programmatic,” Plummer said. “The contracts are agreed upon by voting members of the community, and the members don’t have to actually do the day-to-day work in the organization.”

Implications for HR and Leadership

As organizations flatten, HR leaders face critical responsibilities in redeploying talent, fostering engagement, and guiding leadership transitions. With fewer middle managers, HR’s role becomes pivotal in ensuring employees remain supported and aligned.

According to Gartner, organizations deploying AI to eliminate middle management will see gains in productivity alongside reduced labor costs: “AI will automate scheduling, reporting, and performance monitoring, enabling remaining managers to focus on strategic, value-added activities.”  

Key areas for HR attention include:

• Redefine leadership: Transition managers from operational oversight to roles centered on innovation and strategy.

• Redeploy talent: Prepare employees to take on high-value, creative roles as AI automates routine tasks.

• Engage employees: Build trust and clarity in flatter structures through transparency and communication.

The Changing Nature of Work

AI-driven transformation compels organizations to rethink the very essence of work. Plummer identified three key shifts:

• The work itself: AI will not only increase productivity but also redefine outcomes, pushing organizations to question whether existing processes or roles remain relevant.

• Human roles: With AI automating repetitive tasks, employees will transition to more creative, collaborative, and strategic responsibilities. 

• Capabilities: AI will amplify human potential, enabling outcomes that were previously unachievable solely through human labor.

“AI assists us in doing things we’ve never been able to scale with human labor alone,” Plummer explained. “It starts with making people more productive and evolves into improving the work product itself—not just how fast we can do it, but whether the product or the role itself needs to change.”

He challenged organizations to confront fundamental questions: “If the work product evolves and we don’t need as many people doing repetitive tasks, why do we need hierarchies as deep as we have today?”

Actionable Insights for HR

• Reskill for strategy: Equip employees to take on higher-value roles as AI automates routine tasks.

• Build trust in change: Foster transparency and collaboration to help employees adapt to flatter, more agile structures.

• Support cultural evolution: Help leaders embrace decentralized decision-making while ensuring alignment with organizational values.

Gartner Prediction: Digital Personas and Rights (By 2027) 

“By 2027, 70% of new employee contracts will include licensing and fair usage clauses for AI representations of employee personas,” according to Gartner. This raises profound questions about ownership, autonomy, and identity in the workplace. As AI systems capture employees’ behaviors, voices, and knowledge, in effect creating digital personas, organizations face significant challenges in managing these assets ethically and transparently.

“The company is going to encode my knowledge as much as they can into this avatar,” Plummer said. “If I retire, do I get paid if they keep using the avatar?”

This emerging technology promises benefits, such as preserving expertise and boosting productivity, but it also presents risks, including misuse and eroded trust.

The idea of corporate ownership of employee-created assets is not new, but digital personas extend this concept. Knowledge, behaviors, and voice patterns could become integral corporate assets.

“Disentangling that data is nearly impossible,” Plummer said. “It’s like trying to remove a drop from the ocean—once it’s in, it’s in.”

He emphasized that this issue transcends intellectual property.

“It’s about agency,” Plummer explained. “Today, a company can’t make you say or do something you refuse. But with an avatar, they can make it say or do anything they want. That raises major ethical concerns. Imagine if an avatar was made to say something you’d never endorse—what recourse would you have?”

Actress Scarlett Johansson’s battle with AI voice replication illustrates these risks. 

“Even when you say, ‘Don’t use my voice,’ companies can create something nearly identical and claim it’s not you,” Plummer said. “Protecting what you look like, sound like, or act like is uncharted legal territory.”

This challenge isn’t limited to public figures. Employees across industries generate behaviors and insights that are valuable corporate assets, leading to questions about compensation and ethical use.

“When hiring, companies will need to be transparent about how much of an employee’s persona becomes a corporate asset,” Plummer noted. “Fair usage clauses will have to specify rights, but liability questions remain. If an avatar misrepresents its creator or is used inappropriately, who’s responsible? These are intricate issues the law—and organizations—aren’t ready to handle yet.”

Balancing Benefits and Risks

While digital personas offer opportunities to enhance efficiency and continuity, the risks demand proactive oversight. Clear policies and ethical guidelines are critical for building trust and avoiding legal pitfalls.

“The legal frameworks for this are lagging far behind the technology,” Plummer cautioned. “We don’t yet have clear laws on what aspects of a person’s digital identity belong to them versus the company. As AI capabilities expand, the questions will only grow more pressing.”

Actionable Insights for HR

• Define licensing clearly: Specify the scope of digital persona use in employee contracts, ensuring transparency for both active and post-employment terms. 

• Build ethical guardrails: Partner with legal teams to create policies that prioritize autonomy and prevent misuse of employee-generated avatars.

• Create fair compensation: Develop models for compensating employees whose personas are used after their tenure ends.

• Open channels of communication: Foster trust through ongoing dialogue about digital persona rights and responsibilities.

Gartner Prediction: Digital Immersion and Well-Being (By 2028)

By 2028, the consequences of excessive digital engagement will push “70% of organizations to adopt anti-digital policies,” according to Gartner, aiming to combat digital addiction and its toll on employee well-being. Gartner predicts that 1 billion people will be affected by digital overuse, leading to decreased productivity, increased stress, and a rise in mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.

“The isolating effects of digital immersion will lead to a disjointed workforce,” Plummer warned. “Enterprises will see a significant drop in productivity.”

The Human Cost of Technology

The effects of digital overuse are not just professional—they’re physical and cognitive. Plummer highlights how excessive screen time alters basic human functions: “Kids’ memory is changing because they don’t have to memorize anything anymore. Our spines are starting to curve because we’re always cramming our necks to look at the phone in our hand.” 

Addressing these challenges requires proactive policies that balance technological engagement with mental and physical well-being.

Building a Balanced Workplace

Combating digital addiction and isolation starts with creating environments that prioritize human well-being alongside technological efficiency.

“Organizations need to ask themselves: Are there ways to improve mental health by reducing reliance on technology?” Plummer said. “This might include digital detox programs, structured breaks, and processes that give employees a true work/life and technology balance.”

Though challenging to implement, programs such as digital detox initiatives and mental health support are critical.

“We’re going to need psychologists, therapists, and structured processes to help employees regain a sense of balance,” Plummer emphasized.

Actionable Insights for HR

• Encourage digital breaks: Establish structured breaks from technology during work hours to reduce stress and maintain focus. 

• Enhance mental health support: Offer access to therapists, psychologists, and wellness initiatives to address digital overuse.

• Foster human interaction: Promote in-person collaboration and social connection to mitigate isolation in remote or hybrid environments.

• Monitor well-being responsibly: Leverage AI tools to assess employee well-being, ensuring privacy protections and ethical use.

Gartner Prediction: Behavioral Monitoring and Cultural Influence (By 2028)

According to Gartner, by 2028, 40% of large enterprises will deploy AI to monitor and influence employee moods and behaviors, fundamentally changing how organizations manage culture and engagement. These tools promise unprecedented insights into workplace sentiment but also raise significant ethical and privacy concerns.

AI tools will be capable of sentiment analysis of workplace communications, such as Slack messages and emails, providing real-time assessments of organizational culture. This capability offers leaders a new way to understand cultural trends and employee engagement, with the potential to adjust strategies proactively. Imagine being able to ask, “How’s my culture today?” and getting an immediate answer based on actual data.

Plummer likened this technology to the role of social media in shaping societal behaviors. On one hand, AI’s ability to analyze and influence sentiment offers opportunities to inspire and align employees during challenging times. For instance, during periods of poor company performance, AI could help boost morale by promoting optimism and encouraging collective action toward improvement.

But there’s another side. The ability for AI to influence emotions and decisions isn’t without risk. Plummer noted that, much like social media, AI could be used to manipulate employees into actions they might not have otherwise taken. This raises critical ethical questions about intent, transparency, and the fine line between motivation and manipulation. 

Trust and accountability are central to this conversation. Employees need to feel confident that their data is being used responsibly. If sentiment monitoring is perceived as invasive or manipulative, it risks undermining morale and eroding trust across the organization. HR must play a leading role in ensuring transparency, ethical oversight, and clear communication regarding these tools.

Balancing Benefits and Risks

AI-driven sentiment analysis is a powerful but double-edged tool. While it might enhance morale and engagement through actionable insights, misuse could result in ethical and legal challenges. Organizations must establish robust ethical guidelines to ensure these tools promote trust and respect for employee autonomy.

The challenge lies in maximizing AI’s benefits for culture and engagement without veering into surveillance or manipulation. Proactive oversight and clear boundaries are essential to maintain trust and ensure ethical use.

Actionable Insights for HR

• Set clear boundaries: Define ethical guidelines for sentiment analysis, ensuring its use is focused on cultural improvement rather than control.

• Be transparent: Explain to employees how monitoring tools work, what data is collected, and what safeguards are in place to protect their privacy.

• Protect employee privacy: Anonymize data, focusing on organizational trends rather than individual behaviors to ensure ethical use. 

Gartner Prediction: AI-Guided Board Decisions (By 2029)

“By 2029, 10% of global boards will use AI guidance to challenge executive decisions that are material to their business,” according to Gartner, signaling a profound transformation in governance. AI’s ability to analyze vast amounts of data and provide actionable insights will redefine how boards fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities and interact with executives.

This shift stems from AI’s potential to surface patterns and insights that traditional methods often overlook. With advanced analytical capabilities, AI offers unprecedented visibility into organizational performance, risks, and opportunities. It enables boards to ask more informed questions, validate strategies, and propose alternatives based on real-time data.

Plummer highlighted the initial resistance some boards may face when integrating AI into decision-making processes. Early on, AI-generated insights might feel like an outlier or “minority report,” challenging long-standing assumptions. However, as these insights prove to be accurate and effective, they are likely to gain trust and influence boardroom dynamics.

Shifting the Governance Landscape

AI’s integration into board-level governance represents a seismic shift. Boards will no longer depend solely on executive reports; instead, they will access real-time, data-driven insights through AI systems.

This transparency empowers boards to:

• Identify risks and opportunities earlier than with traditional methods. 

• Validate or challenge executive recommendations with evidence-based insights.

• Simulate scenarios to better understand the impact of key decisions.

However, incorporating AI into governance isn’t without its challenges. AI should serve as a decision-support tool, enhancing the judgment of human leaders without undermining collaboration or trust. Balancing these factors is essential to ensuring AI strengthens—not disrupts—boardroom dynamics.

Actionable Insights for HR

• Broaden metrics: Ensure AI-driven board insights include human-centered metrics such as employee well-being, organizational culture, and inclusion and diversity to provide a comprehensive view of performance.

• Encourage collaboration: Help boards and executives view AI as a collaborative tool that complements human expertise rather than replacing it.

• Support strategic HR contributions: Equip HR leaders to bring AI-derived insights about workforce trends and culture to board discussions, bridging the gap between operational and strategic priorities.

Preparing for the AI-Enhanced Future

As AI adoption accelerates, organizations face immediate, medium-term, and long-term changes that will fundamentally reshape work, culture, and strategy. These changes require HR leaders to adapt their approaches to align with evolving realities.

Short Term (0–5 Years): Building Trust and Comfort

In the short term, organizations must create environments where employees see AI as an ally rather than a threat. Early collaboration and transparent communication are critical to building trust. AI should streamline tasks, enhance productivity, and improve the employee experience without overwhelming the workforce. 

“Right now, many people don’t know what to do with AI,” Plummer noted. “Some are afraid, while others are just standing still, unsure of their next steps.”  

A healthy short-term strategy involves:

• Educating employees about AI’s potential to enhance their roles.

• Collaborating across teams to identify high-impact, low-resistance AI use cases.

• Communicating transparently about how AI fits into organizational goals.

Medium Term (5–10 Years): Adapting to Disruption

Over the next five to 10 years, the fundamental disruption of job roles will accelerate. AI will automate repetitive tasks, leaving employees to take on more complex, creative, and strategic responsibilities. While this shift creates opportunities, it also demands reskilling and a focus on adaptability.

“AI will redefine job roles, making them more dynamic and complex,” Plummer emphasized. “We need to prepare for a world where the job you have today may look entirely different in five years.”

HR leaders should: 

• Invest in reskilling programs to equip employees for evolving roles.

• Develop frameworks for integrating AI into workflows without compromising human potential.

• Establish ethical governance structures to guide AI use across functions.

Long Term (10+ Years): Shaping the AI-Human Partnership

In the long term, organizations must integrate AI seamlessly into their culture, workflows, and strategies. Success will depend on creating models where AI enhances—rather than replaces—human contributions.

“Healthy organizations of the future will view AI as an inherent collaborator that enables employees to achieve more without taking away from their lives,” Plummer said.

Key priorities include:

• Embedding AI into organizational design and decision-making processes. 

• Fostering a culture where employees see AI as a partner in achieving professional and personal growth.

• Maintaining a focus on employee well-being and development, ensuring that technology enhances humanity rather than diminishing it.

The Path Forward

The rapid rise of AI, particularly agentic AI, is accelerating transformation timelines, potentially arriving in time to address global challenges such as declining birth rates and workforce shortages. As AI evolves, it promises to reshape how we live and work, unlocking unprecedented opportunities for human potential.

This transformation highlights two interconnected trends:

• Hyper-humanity: Leveraging AI to enhance human well-being and capabilities.

• Hyper-machinery: Advancing machines to take on increasingly impactful roles in solving complex global problems.

Together, these trends suggest a future where humans and AI collaborate seamlessly to drive progress.  

“We have to avoid thinking about AI the way it is today,” Plummer stressed. “Instead, we must imagine what it will be capable of in three to five years.”

Organizations that thrive in this future will find a balance between technological innovation and human-centered strategies. They will:

• Harness AI’s potential to empower employees and unlock creativity.

• Foster cultures of trust and collaboration to ensure well-being remains a priority.

• Reimagine traditional structures and processes to align with the capabilities of AI.

The moment to act is now. Organizations that rethink their assumptions, strategies, and structures today will lead the way into an AI-enhanced world. This is not just about adapting to survive—it’s about creating a new vision for what is possible in a future where technology and humanity thrive together. HR leaders have a critical role to play, championing AI strategies that enhance human potential and ensure that technology serves as a tool for empowerment, not control.