Welcome to Managed Work

Work is getting more managed, more measured, and in some places more monitored. This week: HR rebuilding foundations as engagement slides, workers using ChatGPT for wage help, the return of monitoring and tougher RTO, and why the AI layoff narrative is becoming its own management problem.

By EBN 11 min read
Person in a suit holding marionette strings, symbolising workplace control, monitoring, and management influence over employees.
Welcome to work, now with strings attached.

A pattern is hardening across big employers.

AI is changing skills and workflows, but it’s also changing management posture. More measurement. More “adapt or fall behind” messaging. More pressure to standardise performance and presence. In the background, engagement is sagging and hiring is cautious, which makes organisations reach for control.

This week’s reading links four threads: HR rebuilding its foundations under uncertainty, workers using AI as a negotiation and coping tool, visibility and monitoring creeping into daily life, and the ongoing narrative battle over what “AI layoffs” are really about.

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