According to Dr. Rebecca Hinds, head of Asana’s Work Innovation Lab, AI isn’t just a tool for individuals—it’s a game-changer for team collaboration and organizational transformation. She predicts AI agents will revolutionize the way modern workflows are designed and executed.
Advanced research on AI in the workplace
Founded in 2022, Asana’s Work Innovation Lab serves as a bridge between academia and business, providing data-driven insights to executives proactively taking on future-of-work challenges. Partnering closely with global academic professionals, the lab’s mission is to equip organizations with strategies for the future of work, according to Hinds.
Hinds has an academic and professional background in artificial intelligence and hybrid work arrangements. With a Ph.D. from Stanford University, Hinds has dedicated her career to exploring how emerging technologies and modern work methods are transforming organizations. Her research highlights how leaders can leverage AI agents—autonomous digital assistants designed to perform complex tasks—to enhance productivity and streamline workflows in HR.
She emphasizes the importance of customizing tech solutions, often collaborating with HR leaders to identify the best approaches for individual organizations. According to Hinds, this customization will increasingly involve AI agents.
Agentic AI makes a move
Josh Bersin, a prominent HR technology analyst, describes agentic AI as the next wave of artificial intelligence. He says these digital teammates can autonomously handle tasks: “Instead of just answering questions and composing poetry, they’re now able to ‘do things’ on our behalf,” writes Bersin.
Like human employees, they require onboarding, training and governance to ensure effectiveness and security. “These agents will actually belong in the organization chart,” according to Bersin. “And our job will be to manage them, make sure they’re safe and watch over their security.”
Bersin predicts that agentic AI will revolutionize organizational technology stacks, driving productivity and delivering measurable ROI. Major HR tech players—including Microsoft, Visier and Workday—are already rolling out agentic AI solutions.
Read more: HR tech in 2025 will be all about the agents, says Josh Bersin
AI agents over the ‘tax on morale’
While some fear AI agents may replace human work, evidence suggests they can be a welcome addition. A 2024 Asana report revealed that 54% of knowledge workers’ time is spent on busy work—repetitive administrative tasks that AI agents can automate. Agents also show promise for leadership teams—HR Executive’s recent What’s Keeping HR Up at Night? survey found that administrative and operational tasks were the number one area where HR leaders report spending their time.
Hinds highlights that automating tasks like meeting notes and status updates—which can consume at least half a day per week—not only saves time but also alleviates the “tax on morale” these activities impose. She says many Asana clients report significant productivity gains through such automation.
Beyond efficiency, AI agents offer a new level of objectivity and prioritization, says Hinds. Managers can leverage AI to identify task blockers, streamline work and better support their teams. For example, AI agents can triage missing information within a project workflow.
As a bonus, Hinds’ vision of agentic AI also helps employees execute deliverables while maintaining a human touch. Hinds shares an example of a bot she designed that wishes colleagues a happy Monday, demonstrating that AI can coexist with empathy.
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The IKEA Effect on agentic AI
Hinds draws on the IKEA Effect—a cognitive bias where individuals value products they help create—to explain employee engagement with agentic AI. She notes that giving employees autonomy in designing AI use cases fosters motivation and innovation.
Not only should employees have a hand in building agentic AI solutions, but they need ample opportunity to interact with them, according to Asana’s Work Innovation Team findings.
Hinds’ research found that daily users of AI are 63% more likely than monthly users to view AI as a teammate. She reports that as AI usage increases, people shift their perspective from simply leveraging AI’s capabilities to actively collaborating with it as a partner to tackle highly complex workflows.
Hinds cautions employers against undervaluing subject matter expertise in technology development. She emphasizes that HR plays a crucial role in connecting IT with organizational and cross-departmental needs, ensuring AI adoption aligns with company culture and business objectives.
The digital employee experience
As digital exhaustion rises, Hinds points out the growing importance of the digital employee experience. While AI can help alleviate repetitive work, she notes that it may also surface a desire for more face-to-face interaction. HR leaders, she says, must strike a balance between technological innovation and preserving human connection.
Looking ahead, Hinds believes the digital employee experience will define the future of work. By leveraging AI agents strategically, organizations can reduce digital fatigue, enhance collaboration and build more resilient workplaces. For HR leaders, the challenge lies in ensuring that technology complements, rather than competes with, human ingenuity.
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