AI at Work - What Microsoft’s 2026 Work Trend Index Means for HR Leaders - 2026 Next Practices Weekly

AI is rapidly reshaping how work gets done, and HR leaders have a critical role to play in determining what comes next. Join i4cp’s Next Practices Weekly on October 15, 2026, for a timely conversation with Laura Hamill, PhD, organizational psychologist, author, and business leader who leads Microsoft’s AI@Work Thought Leadership research function. Hamill will share key findings from Microsoft’s 2026 Work Trend Index Annual Report, with a particular focus on what the research signals for HR and the future of work.

Attendees will also get a look ahead as Hamill tests emerging ideas informing Microsoft’s next Work Trend Index. This forward-looking discussion will give HR leaders an opportunity not only to learn from one of the field’s leading researchers, but also to consider how their organizations can navigate - and help shape - the next chapter of AI-enabled work.

Specifically, we'll:

• Go inside Microsoft’s latest research on AI and work with Laura Hamill and explore the most important findings from the 2026 Work Trend Index through an HR and workforce lens.

• Translate AI trends into implications for HR strategy, including how changing ways of working may influence leadership, culture, talent, and the employee experience.

• Explore what’s next for AI-enabled organizations and the emerging questions Microsoft is examining as it looks toward the next Work Trend Index.

• Learn from a leading organizational psychologist and business leader whose career spans people research, employee experience, organizational culture, and AI@Work thought leadership.

• Get ahead of the next wave of workplace change with research-backed insights to help HR leaders prepare their organizations and workforces for an increasingly AI-powered future.

To ensure open discussion, this event is exclusively for HR practitioners. Vendors and consultants are not permitted to attend.