The future of work isn’t man versus machine. It’s man plus machine

There’s no shortage of apocalyptic headlines about the future of work in the era of artificial intelligence. For workers, the technology has inflicted anxiety and uncertainty, provoking questions of when, how many, and which kinds of workers will be replaced. Companies have been propelled into a FOMO fury to integrate AI expediently or miss out on efficiency, cost savings, and competitive advantage. The disruption is inevitable, but from where I sit at the nexus of employee mental health and technology, we’re asking the wrong questions.

Enhancing, not replacing, humans

As CEO of Calm, I have spent the past year visiting with executives and their teams across the country to understand how they are faring amid the uncertainty. No matter their sector or location, employers and employees alike have shared their resounding commitment to a future where human talent will still lead, where work will still be human-powered.

There’s no doubt that the future will be different and that workforces will be impacted. The how, who and when of it all is likely to remain uncertain for some time. AI is already transforming how we work—but it isn’t replacing the human element of work. It’s enhancing it. The future of work won’t be man versus machine; it will be man and machine. I see this every day in our work and in conversations with others navigating this transition.

An experiment

One recent experiment reinforced this truth. Partnering with a major chip company, our team explored whether AI visual-language models could help people recognize and reflect on their own emotions like happiness, sadness, or fear—so that they might use them to overcome a barrier many face in seeking mental health support: putting their feelings into words. The aim wasn’t to use machines to tell someone how they feel, but to use technology to help support emotional self-awareness that could lead to better descriptions of their emotional experience and other important outcomes, ultimately enhancing their journey with mental health support.

While the AI model achieved 80% accuracy in mapping facial expressions to core emotions, which is closing the gap on the level of accuracy needed to deploy the tool for use, it was clear that achieving the level of accuracy needed could only be achieved with human input to label the data. In short, AI gave us scale to gather and get close to helpful analysis, but human input gave that data the accuracy and meaning we needed to get to a use case. This isn’t just true for mental health technology. It’s the blueprint for the future of work across every industry. Technology supports it, but humans lead it.

The organizations that will succeed won’t be the ones deploying technology in isolation. They’ll be the ones that invest as deeply in human capacity as they do in data and algorithms—prioritizing mental-health support infrastructure, designing resilient cultures, and creating workplaces where people and machines complement one another. And that requires a specific kind of leadership: leaders who ask how employees see themselves integrating AI to supercharge their work, not replace it—and who actively encourage their teams to engage with these tools in ways that feel empowering and additive. Leaders who listen to what their teams need now to be ready for the AI future. Leaders who model the human capabilities no algorithm can replicate: creativity, judgment, empathy, and emotional intelligence.

Overwhelmed

But here’s the problem: the very people we need to guide us through this transition are struggling to stay afloat themselves. Calm Health’s latest survey of more than 250 U.S.-based C-suite executives revealed a striking paradox. While nearly nine in ten rate their mental and emotional health as “good,” nearly half say they feel overwhelmed; one in four report anxiety or depression tied to their role. Sleep disruption (41%), exhaustion (34%), and an inability to be mentally present (40%) are rampant. Many leaders say they’ve considered stepping down or changing careers.

This isn’t just about the general difficulty of leadership. This crisis is happening as leaders navigate one of the most disruptive technological transformations in history. They’re making critical decisions about AI integration, workforce transformation, and organizational change—while burned out, anxious, and unable to be mentally present. They’re being asked to model emotional intelligence and human-centered thinking while running on empty. Leaders who are sleep-deprived and overwhelmed cannot do the thoughtful, human-centered work that AI integration demands. They can’t ask the right questions about preserving creativity and empathy in their organizations. They can’t build psychologically safe environments where employees feel secure enough to experiment with new tools. They can’t listen deeply to their teams’ needs or properly mentor the next generation of leaders. And they certainly can’t inspire and sustain organizations through profound uncertainty.

The wrong questions

This leads me to believe that we’re asking the wrong questions when debating AI and the future of work. We should not be asking which sectors will be transformed and how fast. We know that it will be all sectors, and transformation is already happening. We should be asking questions about how we are supporting our leaders and employees through this transition. How are we fostering a shared vision and sense of connection? How are we minimizing exhaustion, burnout and anxiety? Eighty-four percent of executives believe that mental health directly impacts their company’s bottom line.

Research shows that when workplaces invest in well-being, employees are three times more likely to be engaged, far less likely to burn out, and significantly more loyal to their employer. Burnout alone drives $200–300 billion in lost productivity and turnover each year, while companies that invest in mental-health care see returns of up to 4:1 through lower absenteeism, better performance, and improved retention.

At Calm Health, we see this firsthand. When employees engage with our offerings, 77% complete a mental-health screening, 39% enroll in a clinical program, and 37% report improved well-being after a single session. The benefits don’t just improve individual lives—they lift culture, performance, and the organization as a whole. And that begins at the top. None of that is possible when leaders themselves are depleted.

Contrary to dystopian headlines, most leaders already understand the human + AI future. Just 13% fear AI will replace human workers. Nearly 60% see AI and human talent as complementary. Thirty-one percent believe AI will free people to focus on higher-value work; another 25% believe it enhances human capabilities rather than replaces them. And almost 80% describe the human brain as the “original data center.”

These aren’t comfort statements. They’re strategic imperatives. The leaders who hold this vision are right. But vision without capacity is just aspiration. To actually build organizations where humans and AI complement one another, leaders need to be mentally and emotionally equipped to do that work. Well-being in the workplace isn’t just nice to have—it is the infrastructure that enables performance, especially in the era of AI. Technology may speed and scale work, but it doesn’t relieve the need for emotional presence or psychological safety.

AI will reshape nearly every job, industry, and business model. The question isn’t whether humans will still be needed. They will. The question is whether we’ll prioritize investment in the mental health of that “original data center” and AI at the same pace. Human capacity—especially leadership capacity—is required to navigate our future wisely. We need to support the leaders and the next generation of management to guide us there. That work begins with ensuring today’s leaders not only have access to transformational AI tools, but also mental health resources that support their higher-value work, so they can actually show up—mentally present, emotionally resilient, and genuinely human.