The latest L&D news, reports, research and updates, personally compiled by TJ’s Editor, Jo Cook. This week: Gen Z embraces AI for productivity yet fears thinking impact. UK SMEs want apprenticeships but face red tape. Hiring diverges globally. Employees self-teach AI skills. Three 2026 events unite evidence, leaders, HR tech.
Listen and learn
The Podcast Learning Festival (Thursday 26 February 2026) has confirmed its Central London venue as Mary Sumner House, Westminster. The UK’s first face-to-face event bringing workplace learning and podcasting together will feature panels, practical podcast-making sessions, and impact stories, with TJ Editor Jo Cook speaking on a panel.
Employees say compliance training is ‘disconnected’ from real life
While 60% of workers say compliance training leads to better behaviour at work, nearly half (45%) say the training that exists is “disconnected from real situations employees face,” according to the results of a survey by employee training platform TalentLMS.
Of the 1,000 U.S. workers polled, more than a third say that improving compliance training, such as training focused on realistic scenarios and practical skills, would cut down on misconduct at work.
42% of U.S. workers report disliking their boss
A new survey of 2000 U.S workers by Jobhire.AI reveals that a staggering 42% of U.S. workers report disliking their boss. When asked whether their boss is a significant source of stress, 39% said their boss is their main source of stress, and another 36% said one of their main sources. That’s 75% of workers experiencing serious stress tied directly to management.
- 51% experienced unrealistic deadlines or constant urgency
- 49% endured extreme micromanaging
- 46% had their boss take credit for their work
From stress and lost sleep to emotional burnout and career setbacks, the American workplace is quietly suffering under managerial missteps.
The AI productivity trap: Why your best engineers are getting slower
For complex, high-stakes engineering tasks, AI tools are currently making experienced developers slower. A randomised controlled trial by METR (Model Evaluation & Threat Research) analysed the impact on senior engineering talent. Unlike previous studies that used toy problems, this one watched experienced developers working on their own mature codebases — the kind of messy, complex legacy systems that actually power your business.
The results were stark. When experienced developers used AI tools to complete real-world maintenance tasks, they took 19% longer than when they worked without them. The core of the problem is that AI is really good at being almost right. According to the 2025 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, the single greatest frustration for developers is dealing with AI solutions that look correct but are slightly wrong. Nearly half of developers explicitly stated that debugging AI-generated code takes more time than writing it themselves.
Workers say they only get between 2 and 3 hours of daily focus time
The average worker gets between two and three hours of focus time per day, meaning uninterrupted work periods without meetings, messages or tool switching, according to the Hubstaff 2026 Global Benchmarks Report.
Increased meeting volume and poor scheduling are some of the biggest barriers to focus time, Hubstaff said in a release. Report data found that the average person is in twice as many meetings per year compared to two years ago, and typical organizations are now running nearly six times as many meetings.
How Gen Z uses Gen AI—and why it worries them
When it comes to gen AI, the habits, attitudes, and ideas of Gen Z are a harbinger of the future of work—and how the rest of us will feel when we get there. Harvard Business Review partnered with Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation to survey a representative sample of nearly 2,500 U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 28 years old. While OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently claimed that “older people use ChatGPT as a Google replacement” whereas “people in their 20s and 30s use it like a life advisor,” the HBR data tell a story of young users prioritising productivity over social uses.
- Ordering young workers not to use AI doesn’t prevent them from doing so
- Gen Z adults are worried that using AI makes people lazier and less intelligent
- AI can free up time for more complex and meaningful work
UK government red tape risks blocking youth jobs as SMEs look to access apprenticeship scheme
New research from Employment Hero, a global leader in HR, hiring and payroll software, shows 73% of SME leaders are ready to take advantage of new support announced in last year’s Autumn Budget. The same data also reveals a warning sign: 43% say navigating the apprenticeship system is too complex, threatening to deter them from hiring.
With 872,000 young people currently not in education, employment or training (NEET) – the highest level in over a decade – apprenticeships represent a proven solution, with 78% of employers having experienced increased productivity through apprenticeships. However, for the UK’s 5.7 million SMEs, the message is clear: financial support alone will not drive uptake if administrative hurdles remain.
Hiring slows worldwide as labour markets fragment
Labour demand has continued to weaken through 2024 and into 2025, but national labour markets are no longer moving in step. New analysis from Revelio Labs shows sharp differences between advanced economies, where job postings are falling, and a number of large economies where demand has proved more resilient.
Global job postings have slowed steadily since the post-pandemic hiring surge of 2021 and 2022. The decline has been most pronounced across North America and much of Europe, where tighter monetary policy, weaker consumer demand and retrenchment in the technology sector continue to weigh on hiring.
AI career confidence and readiness: What 1000 employees think about AI at work
- AI is already a normal part of work. Nearly 9 in 10 employees use AI at least sometimes, and 1 in 4 use it daily
- AI Use is not limited to technical roles. Adoption is nearly even between tech (51%) and non-tech employees (49%)
- Confidence is present, but depth varies. Many employees feel moderately or very confident using AI, while fewer report deep familiarity or advanced skill
- AI learning is largely self-driven. Nearly half of employees taught themselves AI skills, with employer-provided training reaching a smaller share of workers
Human resources professional salary guide 2026
Drawing on data from 18 million job postings on Reed.co.uk since 2017, the guide reveals key salary trends across 12 regions in the UK, helping you benchmark your team’s pay or discover what you could – and should – be earning.
- 20% of professionals feel unhappy with their current salary
- On average, men earn £48,367.15, while women earn £33,852.12, a difference of over £14,500
Evidence Informed Practice Conference 2026: 29 May, Birmingham
New conference launches in Birmingham to bring research and real-world practice together for L&D, HR, and performance enablement professionals. The Evidence Informed Practice Conference (EIPC) launches for the first time on 29 May 2026 in central Birmingham, bringing together scientists, researchers, L&D practitioners, HR professionals, and anyone working on the real drivers of organisational performance.
Across a full day, the conference explores research and insight from multiple scientific fields, including psychology, neuroscience, behavioural science, and more, with a clear focus on what this means for day-to-day decisions in organisations. The programme will look at performance through three recurring organisational lenses, environment, culture, and capability, helping attendees diagnose what is really happening and choose interventions that fit reality.
‘The Human-AI Partnership: Skills for Success’ theme at CLO100 Learning Leaders Forum
The forum will focus on equipping leaders with the tools, insights, and strategies to build and maximise uniquely human capabilities such as creativity, critical thinking, and storytelling, while exploring how these skills can complement and enhance AI. Taking place on 1st and 2nd June 2026 at the Crowne Plaza, Gerrards Cross, London, this two-day residential event is designed to empower L&D leaders to navigate the evolving relationship between human skills and artificial intelligence.
Registration opens for HR Technologies UK 2026
Registration is now live for HR Technologies UK, which returns to Excel London from 29 – 30 April 2026. As the UK’s only dedicated exhibition for HR and recruitment technology, the show offers networking opportunities, exclusive product launches, and an immersive look at the digital tools changing how teams operate.
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