How Can Your Workforce Learn How To Learn Amid AI Disruption?

Amid the ongoing impact of AI and other disruptors on the workplace, one thing is clear: workers need more than new skills—they also need guidance. In this episode of Work Week, Dr. Kelly Monahan, Managing Director of The Upwork Research Institute, explores why coaching, development, and human-centered learning are more important than ever in an AI-driven world. Drawing on data from Upwork’s 2025 In-Demand Skills Report, we dive into the rising demand on the platform for coaching skills, what this says about the state of the modern workforce, and why “learning how to learn” is emerging as a mission-critical skill. You’ll discover why coaching is no longer a luxury reserved for executives, but is a strategic imperative for organizations focused on agility, engagement, and long-term growth across the workforce.

Episode Transcript

(00:03):
- Hello, and welcome to Work Week,
the podcast where wetackle one big question
about the rapidly evolvingworkplace each week,
explore what the researchsays about the issue,
and explain what it all means for you.
I'm Dr. Kelly Monahan
Managing Director of theUpwork Research Institute
and what you're hearing isa digital proxy of my voice

(00:24):
that was created by ourteam with the help of AI.
On each episode of Work Week,
we help you make senseof the seismic shifts
transforming the world of work,
and equip you with research-backedinsights you can act on.
This week's topic isbecoming increasingly urgent
for leaders, managers, and workers alike.
How can you and your workforce learn

(00:45):
how to learn amid AI disruption?
Let's start with a snapshotof where we are today.
Artificial intelligence israpidly changing the way we work.
Some tasks are being automated,
decision-making is being enhanced.
The half-life of technicalskills is shrinking,
and job functions are beingreshaped in real time.
But even given thistechnological revolution,

(01:07):
something very human isrising to the surface.
What we're finding isthat, more than new skills,
workers also need guidance.
They need help navigatingthe complex changes
that AI is churning up.
They need help adapting to new tools
that are constantly updating
and they need help buildingthe confidence to keep going

(01:27):
amid all this uncertainty and change.
Because of this, humancoaching and career development
are essential to yourAI skilling strategy.
According to our 2025In-demand Skills Report,
career coaching, training and development
are among the fastestgrowing skills on Upwork.
This is a powerful signal.

(01:48):
Amid all the focus on anddiscussions surrounding AI tools,
the real investment is happening
in the people who help others grow.
But why is coachinghaving such a moment now?
Let's unpack what the data tells us
and what it means for the future of work.
Our research reveals a compelling trend.
The more that automationscales across industries,

(02:11):
the more likely workers are
to seek out human-centered guidance.
The demand we're seeing forcareer coaching, training,
and development skillsshows that human guidance
is more than a nice to have benefit,
it's a strategic necessityfor organizations.
According to a surveyof 1,250 C-suite leaders

(02:32):
we conducted in 2024,
in the 12 months leading up to the survey,
35% of leaders required team members
to expand their skillsets
in addition to performingtheir day-to-day work.
However, effectivere-skilling or up-skilling
is not only about learning more skills,
it's also about learninghow to learn, adapt,
and thrive in ambiguity.

(02:53):
Why? Because AI is notreplacing jobs entirely.
It's reshaping them task by task
in ways that are hard to predict.
Research from Anthropic showsthat only about 4% of jobs
currently use AI forat least 75% of tasks.
However, 36% of occupations use AI

(03:14):
for at least 25% of their tasks,
and these numbers areonly expected to grow.
The transitions workers are having to make
to manage these new technologies
are raising existential questions.
Confronting this broader identity shift,
workers are asking themselves,
who am I if AI can now performthe job I was trained to do?

(03:35):
Organizations are rightly focused
on building technicalcapabilities such as AI fluency,
prompt engineering, andautomation integration.
However, fixating on thesehard skills risk overlooking
one of the most powerful andsought after tools available,
coaching that buildsconfidence, resilience,
and adaptability.

(03:56):
When done well, the upshotof this kind of learning
is a team that is more anti-fragile.
In an era increasingly definedby artificial intelligence,
human intelligence,
and more specificallyemotional intelligence,
is proving to be the true differentiator.
While AI-powered coaching platforms
and chatbots are available,

(04:17):
skilled human coaches providewhat no algorithm can,
empathy, perspective
and personalized feedbackrooted in lived experience.
These skills help workersconfront their fears,
make sense of change,
and move forward with a sense of purpose.
From a coaching anddevelopment perspective,
we're already in an eraof information overload.

(04:39):
Workers need more thancontent. They need context.
They need someone to say,"Here's how this applies to you.
Here's where you might get stuck.
And here's how we'll get through it."
That's the role of aneffective human coach.
In fact, you could think of coaching
as a workforce stabilizer.
When things are moving fast

(05:00):
and structures andpriorities are shifting,
people need steady touchpoints.
Coaching provides continuity, clarity,
and often hope as workersnavigate ongoing disruption.
Let's zoom out for a moment.
What does all this meanfor business leaders?
It means that coachingis no longer optional.
It's a strategic imperative.
Too often, companies treatcoaching as an executive perk.

(05:23):
Coaching may be reserved for the C-suite
or high-potential talent,
but in a volatile world, theneed for guidance is universal.
The leaders of tomorrow willbe those who democratize access
to coaching across their workforce.
Coaching resources ofteninclude these four pillars.
First, on-demand accessto professional coaches
for employees at all levels.

(05:45):
Second, peer coaching programs
that create a culture of shared learning.
Third, access to skill-building platforms
that integrate coachinginto the learning journey.
And finally, manager enablementthat trains supervisors
to act as effective coaches themselves.
And that last pillar, manager enablement,

(06:06):
essentially coachingmanagers how to coach,
is critical to aneffective coaching culture.
However, despite the importance,
according to a survey by BetterWorks
of 2,029 full-time workers,
only 54% of managers surveyedfelt confident coaching
for career development.
So, why does democratizing coaching

(06:27):
across your organization matter?
Because coaching drives performance.
According to research
from the InternationalCoaching Federation,
86% of companies report a positive ROI
on coaching engagements,
and the ROI isn't just in dollars.
It's in culture.
Coached employees are moremotivated to stay with,

(06:48):
grow in, and advocate for your company.
In short, coaching isn't justabout supporting workers,
it's about giving your people
the engine of workforce agility
and corporate anti-fragility.
It's about teaching themto learn how to learn.
When business leaderstalk about re-skilling,
they often focus on what to learn,
data analytics, cloudcomputing, cybersecurity.

(07:11):
But the more important question
is how we're preparingpeople to continually adapt.
That is a key gap in the modern era
of AI-driven instability.
Great coaches don'thand out easy solutions.
They help workers developthe self-awareness
and cognitive flexibilityto continue learning
even as the landscape keeps shifting.

(07:31):
Let me say that again.
In a world where businessneeds shift quickly,
the most important skill is the ability
to continually learn,unlearn, and relearn.
And this requires morethan online modules,
self-paced videos, orfeedback from a chatbot.
Effective coaching requiresrealtime relational guidance

(07:52):
because coaching is aboutmore than competence,
it's about confidence.
Confidence is contagious.
When teams feel empoweredto learn and grow,
they experiment more,they collaborate better,
they innovate faster.
This is where human coaching can make
all the difference in an AI world.
(ambient digital music)

(08:14):
I want to wrap up this week'sepisode as I always do,
by sharing an actionyou can take immediately
to address the challenge at hand,
as well as a question to reflect on
that might just bringabout a mindset shift.
Here's your action item for the week.
Start building a culture of human coaching
at your organization.
You don't have to roll out
a massive coaching program overnight.

(08:37):
You can start small,
first by inviting departmentleads to host office hours
or schedule lunch andlearns for skill-sharing.
If possible, you canoffer coaching stipends
or reimbursements to team members.
As the program takes root,
you can promote internalgrowth and mobility
by pairing employees directlywith mentors or coaches.

(08:58):
And finally, coachmanagers on how to coach.
You should encourage feedback loops
and performance reviewsthat go beyond metrics
to include coaching andgrowth conversations.
And for our weekly reflectionquestion, ask yourself,
what if coaching isn'tjust for development,
but for survival?
Think about the paceof change your business

(09:20):
has been experiencing.
Entire industries are being redefined.
Traditional career paths are dissolving.
The social contract betweenemployer and employee
is under pressure.
In this environment, coachingis the infrastructure
that holds people above the churn.
It's a bridge that givesstructure to human connections
and enables learning,growth, and resilience

(09:41):
to happen amid the chaos.
If you're listening to this
while navigating yourown career transition
in the midst of AI-driven change,
consider this your affirmation.
You don't have to go it alone.
There is strength in seekinghuman support and guidance.
Growth is not a solo sport.

(10:02):
Whether it's through aformal coach, a trusted peer,
or a community of learners,
you deserve and can benefitfrom human guidance.
The future of work belongsto those who keep growing,
and coaching is the catalyst.
That's it for today'sepisode of Work Week.
I'm Kelly Monahan,
and this week we asked whatthe missing ingredient is

(10:24):
in your AI skilling strategy.
We found that for many, theanswer is not more technology,
but more humanity throughhuman guidance and coaching.
Thank you for joining me.
If this episode sparked something in you,
share it with a friend or colleague.
And if you haven't already,subscribe to Work Week
for more data-backedinsights on how to lead
and thrive in the future of work.

(10:46):
We hope you'll join us next week
when we'll continue our discussion
about the ongoing importanceof human-centric skills.
We'll look at how soft skills
can be your organization'scompetitive advantage
in a period of massivetechnological uplift.