Your Employee Experience Roundup: Microsoft’s AI Findings, Deloitte’s Two-Tier Benefits Controversy, and ServiceNow’s Autonomous HR Push

This week’s big research drop is Microsoft’s 2026 Work Trend Index, with findings that point the finger at management for stalling AI progress. Deloitte is under scrutiny for a two-tier benefits decision that’s prompting wider questions about how organisations value...

Microsoft’s 2026 Work Trend Index: Manager Behaviour Is the Real Barrier to AI Adoption

Microsoft’s 2026 Work Trend Index, released this week — with research collaboration from Harvard Business School — provides strong evidence about something many EX and people leaders have been suspecting for a while now. That the bottleneck in AI adoption is the...

When Employee Onboarding Fails, Customers Feel It Too

Employee onboarding is arguably the most important moment to get right in the employee experience. Yet this is exactly the point where organisations are failing their people. And the problem is getting worse. Recent research from Qualtrics highlights a sharp decline...

Deloitte’s Two-Tier Benefits Cut: Smart Cost Management or a Signal About Who Matters?

Last month, Deloitte came under scrutiny for its plans to cut back on employee benefits for a group of workers in the US. From 1 January 2027, parental leave, annual paid time off, and IVF funding will be scaled back...

Your Employee Experience Roundup: The Profitability Paradox, Frontline Recognition, and Microsoft’s Buyout Dilemma 

It’s been a big week for WorkHuman, which dropped a new global study alongside two new product launches. Congratulations are in order to the finalists of the UK Employee Experience Awards 2026, announced yesterday. And there’s been some notably mixed...

UK Employee Experience Awards 2026: Finalists Announced

The UK Employee Experience Awards (UKEXA) 2026 finalists have been announced! And the shortlist reflects the breadth and ambition of employee experience work happening across the UK right now. From global healthcare and financial services to energy innovators and independent businesses,...

Job Catfishing Is on the Rise – and It’s an Employee Experience Problem as Much as a CX One

A new starter joins your organisation. After what felt like a promising interview process, they quickly realise that the job they accepted isn’t the job they are now doing. This is not a new problem, but recent data suggests it...

Profits Are Up. Employees Are Paying the Price.

The sales team is hitting targets, profits are up, and cashflow is healthy – all clear signs of a thriving organisation. And yet what it actually feels like to work in a successful business has changed, and not for the...

Microsoft’s Voluntary Retirement Buyout: A Human-First Move or an AI Restructuring Play?

In a first in its 51-year history, Microsoft has offered voluntary retirement buyouts to approximately 8,750 US employees – around 7% of its domestic workforce. The move is part of a broader AI-driven workforce restructuring that is reshaping an entire...

840,000 Deaths a Year: The ILO Report Every EX Leader Needs to Read

More than 840,000 people die every year from health conditions linked to psychosocial risk at work. That figure comes from a landmark new report from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and is a major wake-up call for employers. Research over the past...

Your Employee Experience Roundup: HR Tech Europe, Agentic AI, and the Workplace Abuse Crisis

It’s been a busy week for employee experience technology, with a flurry of AI product launches and acquisitions. Amsterdam was also the place to be, with HR Tech Europe 2026 taking place to packed-out sessions. Some concerning new research also...

Eight in Ten Frontline Workers Faced Abuse Last Year. Why Aren’t They Speaking Up?

In the past year, 80% of UK frontline employees experienced workplace abuse. Of those who did not report it, more than half said it was because violence is simply “part of the job.” The data comes from a Trades Union Congress...