Beyond the Org Chart: AI and the Transformation of Invisible Work

TL;DR

This study explores how AI adoption in a large tech company is transforming formal roles, informal cultural practices, and professional interactions, with both positive and nuanced impacts on career development.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into AI-driven changes in work roles, collaboration, and informal practices, and proposes strategies to make invisible work more visible.

Findings

AI alters formal responsibilities and collaboration

AI impacts informal mentoring and cultural practices

Some changes facilitate collaboration but may hinder career growth

Abstract

An increasing number of news and research articles report that AI adoption is allowing professionals to blur and extend the boundaries of their corporate roles. With the goal of understanding how work processes might be changing in an AI-forward company, we interviewed 24 product-focused individuals at a large technology firm about how AI has impacted their own work, their work within their product team, and their professional interactions. Our conversations suggest that AI is not only changing formal role responsibilities and collaborations between those roles, but also changing informal cultural practices like professional mentoring that are key to helping professionals settle in their positions, stay engaged with their work, and grow their careers. Some of these changes are positive, such as smoother collaboration between peers, but other changes are more nuanced and put the typical career growth opportunities, like receiving feedback from professional networks and promoting leadership and mentorship, at risk. We propose steps that AI companies can take to make the invisible work more visible. Additionally, we propose efforts that individuals and leaders can take to support their colleagues through AI transformation while preserving healthy company cultures that support diverse thinking, collaboration, and informal interactions.