At Work with The Ready

Episode 40: Our 2026 Predictions: Expect the Unexpected

Hosts: Rodney Evans (A), Sam Spurlin (B)
Date: December 29, 2025

Overview

In their final episode of 2025, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin reflect on a transformative year in the world of work and peer boldly into 2026 with a mix of grounded insight and speculative energy. The conversation centers on the accelerating impacts of AI in organizations, shifting labor markets, and how companies are grappling with unprecedented disruption. Both hosts offer candid, sometimes contrarian predictions for the coming year—challenging conventional narratives and highlighting the nuanced human and organizational factors shaping the future of work.

Reflections on 2025 (01:13–03:42)

• Rodney's Reflection:

  • 2025 was a year of “seeing through the matrix,” as widely held assumptions about work, pay, and the social contract eroded.
  • Growing public awareness that established systems like executive pay, health insurance tied to employment, and social safety nets are failing.
  • "A lot of the lies we have been told are now being seen for what they are. And that feels a little scary, but also very validating." — Rodney (02:25)

• Sam's Reflection:

  • AI has dominated discourse, sometimes serving as a productive catalyst, but often distracting from more fundamental organizational issues.
  • The AI conversation is “drawing attention to things we’ve been talking about for a decade”—like role clarity and workflow visualization—while also overshadowing other vital problems.
  • Describes himself as “of two minds” about the AI hype vs. its organizational utility.

2026 Predictions

1. The Normalization (and De-hyping) of AI (04:02–04:51)

• Sam’s Prediction #1:
  • AI will become a more “normal” technology in 2026; the hype will settle down.
  • The fantasy of imminent AGI will fade, with attention shifting to practical, useful applications.
  • “The breathless nature of AI will...calm down a little bit...for better or worse, in 2026.” — Sam (04:47)
  • Rodney is skeptical but intrigued by this take.

2. The Tipping Point for White Collar Displacement (05:22–09:53)

• Rodney’s Prediction #1:
  • 2026 will see a tangible shift in the workforce as white collar displacement due to AI becomes real and visible.
  • Many layoffs so far have been “performative” or a signaling strategy for investors; the true AI-driven job losses are just beginning.
  • Early data hints at growing applicant surges in fields like corrections, military, and waste management—signaling worker anxieties about future employability.
  • Anticipates a flooded job market, wage stagnation, and severe pressure on social services.
  • “By sort of middle of next year, I think we’re just going to see a market flooded with resumes...just a real shift in terms of what the US economy looks like and where the jobs are and aren’t.” — Rodney (08:24)
  • Sam jokes: “Depending on how my current job search goes, I may be reporting from the front lines on this one for us into 2026.” (09:05)

3. Rise of Internal Org Design Capacity (09:53–12:07)

• Sam’s Prediction #2:
  • Companies will accelerate the building of internal organization design teams (“internal org design capacity”) to respond more rapidly to change, rather than relying solely on consultants.
  • Compares this to the way digital transformation created a need for dedicated change management disciplines.
  • “The pace of organizational change is truly accelerating and organizations are realizing...there’s more work to be done in a more constant way than they can kind of shovel off to consultants.” — Sam (10:04)
  • Discussion on whether org design will replace or evolve from traditional change management roles.

4. Choosing AI Over Human Teammates for Behavioral Reasons (12:09–14:49)

• Rodney’s Prediction #2:
  • Employees will increasingly choose AI over problematic human colleagues—particularly when people are slow, uncollaborative, or difficult.
  • “Quiet firing” of teammates by bypassing them via AI solutions, even as workers themselves fear AI displacement.
  • Behavioral incentives: AI is non-political, non-egoistic, pleasant, and infinitely cooperative.
  • “AI is nothing but like, yes-and energy...compare that to the IT guy down the hall who’s like, ‘I’ll put it in the backlog, you won’t see it for three years, don’t expect anything.’ Who are you going to pick?” — Rodney (14:16)
  • Sam notes that AI’s agreeable nature makes it an attractive “teammate,” possibly leading to further avoidance of difficult interpersonal work.

5. Bimodal Organization Evolution & AI-Native Micro-Organizations (15:04–17:47)

• Sam’s Prediction #3:
  • Organizations will increasingly split along two paths:
    1. Legacy/industrial-era companies using AI to supercharge old-school efficiency—leading to further exploitation and potential social problems.
    2. New, small, distributed “AI native” organizations—highly flexible and less traditionally organized, collaborating in novel ways.
  • Predicts deep creative and societal change as these models diverge, but also challenges around unemployment and adaptation.
  • “Start to build these organizations from scratch...like many years ago when mobile-first like Instagram...became massively influential and powerful with a very small number of people.” — Sam (16:49)

6. The Birth of AI-Exempt Organizations and Premium Human Work (17:47–21:30)

• Rodney’s Prediction #3:
  • The coming of AI will create a premium on “AI-free” or “human-crafted” products, services, and experiences (echoes of artisan, handmade luxury).
  • Organizations and society may intentionally carve out spaces or roles where AI is forbidden or strictly limited—for risk, creativity, or prestige reasons.
  • Anticipates “AI labeling” akin to disclosures in other industries (e.g., video games, influencer content).
  • “Part of the new luxury will be craft, will be human-crafted things...like buying a hand-knotted rug versus buying something synthetic from an assembly line.” — Rodney (18:15)
  • “There will start to be some real reining in of what can be created solely by AI and maybe even what must involve humans.” — Rodney (19:25)
  • Sam confirms AI labeling has already begun in sectors like gaming (Steam now labels games with AI-generated content).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "A lot of the lies we have been told are now being seen for what they are. And that feels a little scary, but also very validating." — Rodney (02:25)
• "The breathless nature of AI will...calm down a little bit...for better or worse, in 2026." — Sam (04:47)
• "By sort of middle of next year, I think we’re just going to see a market flooded with resumes...just a real shift in terms of what the US economy looks like and where the jobs are and aren’t." — Rodney (08:24)
• "AI is nothing but like, yes-and energy...compare that to the IT guy down the hall who’s like, ‘I’ll put it in the backlog, you won’t see it for three years, don’t expect anything.’ Who are you going to pick?" — Rodney (14:16)
• "Start to build these organizations from scratch...like many years ago when mobile-first like Instagram...became massively influential and powerful with a very small number of people." — Sam (16:49)
• "Part of the new luxury will be craft, will be human-crafted things...like buying a hand-knotted rug versus buying something synthetic from an assembly line." — Rodney (18:15)

Discussion Highlights & Timestamps

| Segment | Speaker(s) | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------|----------------|-------------| | Reflections on 2025 | Both | 01:13–03:42 | | AI Becomes Mundane | Sam | 04:02–04:51 | | White Collar Layoff Tipping Point | Rodney | 05:22–09:53 | | Internal Org Design Capacity Will Grow | Sam & Rodney | 09:53–12:07 | | Choosing AI Over Human Coworkers | Rodney & Sam | 12:09–14:49 | | Bimodal Organizations & AI-Native Firms | Sam | 15:04–17:47 | | AI-Exempt, Human-Premium Work | Rodney & Sam | 17:47–21:30 |

Tone & Style

• Warm, candid, and laced with wry humor and skepticism.
• Willingness to challenge established narratives—often with a pragmatic, human-centered perspective.
• Predictions are thoughtful but playful, underscoring the hosts’ belief in adaptability over long-term strategic certainty.

Final Note

This episode offers a kaleidoscopic, unsentimental, and highly practical look at the near future of work—encouraging listeners to expect the unexpected, interrogate the real impact of AI, and get ready for a world in which adaptability and human ingenuity are more essential (and possibly, more rarefied) than ever.