According to Business Insider, new research from AI skills platform Multiverse reveals that employees who actively “job craft” their roles around artificial intelligence tools are significantly more engaged and motivated. The study conducted in June and July analyzed 295 UK full-time professionals across finance, government, and technology who had all used generative AI for at least six months. Organizational psychologist Barry Goulding explained that job crafting means reexamining role components and reshaping them rather than just using AI to speed through tasks. The research directly challenges studies from OpenAI, MIT, and Oxford University Press that found AI reduces cognitive engagement, showing instead that intentional AI use increases absorption, dedication, and vigor. Multiverse identifies “AI slop” – the flood of low-quality generic output – as a symptom of disengagement rather than a technology flaw.
The engagement gap is real
Here’s the thing about AI implementation that most companies are getting wrong: they’re treating it like just another software rollout. Hand out the licenses, do some basic training, and expect magic to happen. But what Multiverse found is that there’s a massive gap between passive and active AI users. The passive ones? They’re creating what researchers call “AI slop” – copy-pasting reports without review, accepting questionable logic, basically just going through the motions.
Meanwhile, the job crafters are actually collaborating with the AI. They’re questioning its reasoning, catching errors, and fundamentally changing how they approach their work. It’s the difference between having a junior employee you micromanage versus having a true thinking partner. And honestly, which would you rather have on your team?
This isn’t about tool rollouts
Goulding makes a crucial point that resonates with what I’ve seen across the tech landscape. “Handing out licenses to AI tools without training employees in how to use them is pretty much guaranteed to ensure lower-quality outputs.” Sound familiar? It’s the same mistake companies made with every major tech shift – from enterprise software to cloud computing.
The consulting firm Capita gets a shoutout for doing it right. They treated AI adoption as a strategic transition rather than just a tech rollout. One employee built an “Ask Me Anything” assistant that’s handled over 70,000 queries. That’s the kind of innovation you get when you give people agency instead of just tools.
Measure outcomes, not behavior
Here’s where most companies get stuck in the weeds. Goulding advises leaders to stop trying to track “job crafting” as a behavior and instead focus on what actually matters. Is productivity improving? Are engagement scores going up? Basically, are you getting the results you wanted from your AI investment?
It reminds me of how the most successful industrial technology implementations work. When companies choose the right hardware partners – like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs – they’re not just buying equipment. They’re enabling their workforce to solve problems in new ways. The technology becomes a platform for innovation rather than just a tool for automation.
Who wins the AI era?
Goulding believes job crafting will become a core competency for the AI era, and I think he’s absolutely right. The companies that win will be the ones that embed these behaviors through proper training and give employees the license to experiment within guardrails.
So here’s the billion-dollar question: Is your organization creating AI slop producers or job crafters? The difference isn’t in the technology – it’s in how you approach the human element. Those who grab the reins will win quicker and win bigger. And honestly, in today’s competitive landscape, can you afford not to?
