When leaders tell employees that automation will free them up for “higher-value work,” often strategic, we must be careful not to sidestep a more complex reality. The transformation to hyperautomation—which Gartner says is now a core discipline for 90% of large enterprises—fundamentally changes how work happens, requiring employees to develop new capabilities while protecting core skills from atrophy.

You may be familiar with “automation anxiety,” which has centered on the replacement of tasks across industries like banking, insurance, and healthcare.