The Latest – How HR Is Navigating AI, Workforce Change, Hybrid Work, and Risk in 2026

Jenny Kiesewetter is a practicing ERISA and employee benefits attorney who partners with HR teams on a wide range of workplace compliance matters — from benefit-plan obligations to day-to-day HR policies and regulatory requirements. Her guidance helps employers spot risks early, navigate regulatory change, and make informed decisions that support both employees and the organization.

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As HR teams move into 2026, the conversation has shifted. The question is no longer what’s coming next, but what needs to work better now.

Over the past year, HR leaders have absorbed wave after wave of change — artificial intelligence tools rolled out faster than governance frameworks, five generations operating side by side in the workplace, hybrid work models settling into uneven realities, and a regulatory environment that continues to evolve across jurisdictions.

What unites these challenges is not novelty. It is permanence. These are not pilot programs or temporary adjustments. They are core features of today’s workplace, and they require clarity, consistency, and accountability from HR leaders.

Artificial intelligence is no longer an emerging tool within HR functions. It is already embedded in recruiting platforms, performance management systems, learning tools, workforce analytics, and employee communications. The challenge entering 2026 is not whether HR will use AI — it is whether HR has clearly defined how AI is used, governed, and evaluated.

Research from Northeastern University shows that AI is becoming a regular part of HR work, especially in hiring and talent management. The research also stresses that these tools work best when they are paired with human judgment and clear ethical guardrails.

At the same time, executive pressure to “use AI” often arrives without corresponding guidance on risk ownership. When AI tools influence hiring decisions, performance assessments, or internal mobility, HR is left to manage the downstream consequences, often without formal authority over the technology itself.

Organizations continue to invest in AI to improve efficiency, but many people questions remain unresolved. Trust, skills readiness, and ethical use remain practical concerns, particularly when employees do not understand how AI affects decisions or when managers lean too heavily on automated recommendations.

For HR, the implication is clear. AI is no longer just a technology initiative. It is a people governance issue. HR must be able to explain its AI strategy: where AI is used, how decisions are reviewed, and when human judgment prevails.

HR Takeaway

• Identify where AI is used in employee-facing decisions and document ownership and review standards.
• Train HR teams and managers to treat AI outputs as inputs, not conclusions.
• Align AI practices with existing employment, data privacy, and compliance frameworks.

For the first time, five generations are working together simultaneously. This reality is reshaping communication norms, career expectations, learning preferences, and leadership dynamics across organizations.

According to the World Economic Forum, by 2034, 80% of the workforce in advanced economies will consist of Millennials, Generation Z, and the first members of Generation Alpha to enter adulthood. While each generation brings distinct experiences to the workplace, Generation Z is already influencing how organizations think about flexibility, technology adoption, and organizational purpose.

The Deloitte 2025 Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey highlights several consistent themes across geographies. Younger workers prioritize meaningful work, opportunities for skill development, flexibility in how they work, and mental well-being. They are also more likely to challenge traditional hierarchies and expect transparency in leadership decisions.

At the same time, other generations continue to bring critical strengths. Traditionalists and Baby Boomers often contribute institutional knowledge and stability. Generation X tends to value autonomy and practical leadership. Millennials frequently emphasize growth and purpose. The challenge for HR is not managing generational differences as a cultural issue, but designing systems that allow these perspectives to work together effectively.

HR Takeaway

• Review policies and programs to ensure they support employees at different career stages.

• Equip managers to lead across generational expectations without relying on stereotypes.
• Invest in collaboration and upskilling initiatives that bridge experience levels.

Hybrid work itself is settled. The uneven experience across roles, teams, and organizations is not.

Data from Gallup shows that six in ten employees with remote-capable jobs prefer a hybrid arrangement, about one-third prefer fully remote work, and fewer than ten percent prefer entirely on-site work. These preferences have real implications for engagement, retention, and performance management.

Hybrid work also changes how people show up and get noticed. Teams are rarely on the same schedule, access to leaders varies by location, and collaboration expectations differ across groups. Without structure, those differences turn into management problems rather than flexibility.

HR no longer needs to justify hybrid work. The real work is making sure it functions consistently, with clear expectations around communication, decision-making, performance, and availability.

HR Takeaway

• Establish clear expectations for collaboration, availability, and performance in hybrid environments.

• Train managers to lead distributed teams without proximity bias.
• Regularly assess whether hybrid practices align with both business needs and employee experience.

As 2026 begins, compliance has become harder to manage, not because of one change, but because of many. Rules around immigration, benefits, AI governance, pay reporting, leave, and state employment laws continue to shift. Those changes rarely account for how HR teams operate day to day.

What stands out in recent developments is not any single rule change, but the way new requirements stack on top of existing ones. HR risk increasingly comes from gaps between policy and practice — where responsibilities are split across teams, decisions are made informally, or processes have not kept pace with how work is actually being done.

Technology and workforce changes are making compliance harder to compartmentalize. AI shows up in hiring and performance decisions. Hybrid and remote work raises wage-and-hour and multi-state issues. Immigration questions are now part of workforce planning. Benefits compliance increasingly depends on how work is structured.

Most compliance risk in 2026 does not come from missing a single rule. It stems from misalignment. This usually shows up when policies no longer align with practice, ownership is unclear across teams, and HR is expected to take on responsibility without real control.

HR Takeaway

• Take a holistic view of compliance to identify overlap and downstream risk.

• Ensure policies align with operational reality, not legacy assumptions.
• Build regular cross-functional reviews into compliance and risk management.

The most effective HR teams entering 2026 will not be those chasing new initiatives. They will be the ones strengthening foundational systems and clarifying ownership.

This is a moment to:

• Reassess AI use and ensure accountability matches impact.
• Design workforce strategies that support generational diversity without fragmentation.
• Bring structure and equity to hybrid work models.
• Align compliance efforts with how work is actually done.

HR leadership in 2026 will be defined by clarity, consistency, and credibility. The work ahead is not about predicting the future. It is about ensuring the workplace functions effectively today.

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