Critical thinking tops employee priorities as AI reshapes workplace skills

Critical thinking is the capability employees believe will become most important as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more common in the workplace, according to global research from learning and development company Insights.

The research, involving more than 5,000 respondents across 11 markets, asked employees to rank 10 skills according to their importance as AI becomes more embedded in work settings.

Critical thinking ranked highest across age groups and in the majority of markets, ahead of capabilities including creativity, communication and adaptability.

The findings add to the debate around how employers prepare workforces for greater use of AI, with the focus increasingly extending beyond technical skills to the human capabilities employees need to interpret information, question outputs and make decisions.

For employers, developing these skills could also form part of a broader approach to sustainable performance and workplace wellbeing as employees navigate changing roles, greater volumes of information and increasingly AI-supported decision-making.

Insights has responded by adding a Critical Thinking chapter to its Insights Discovery learning and development programme, the first in a planned series focused on skills the company believes will become increasingly important alongside AI.

The programme focuses on decision-making, prioritisation, evaluating options and reducing bias. It uses a five-step framework encouraging employees to clarify problems, locate evidence, explore different perspectives, assess trade-offs and respond with proportionate action.

Ross Esplin, Product and Innovation Director at Insights, said: “As AI gathers pace in the workplace and the business landscape becomes more turbulent, global experts are converging on the same conclusion: human skills and critical thinking in particular are becoming more valuable, not less. Our own global research confirms this. Employees are telling us that the ability to make clear decisions will make the difference when situations feel more complex, uncertain and pressured.”

The chapter is designed to be used alongside an employee’s existing Insights Discovery profile, using individual personality preferences to explore how people approach thinking and decision-making.

Esplin added: “Most critical thinking training treats the skill as a one-size-fits-all module. Ours starts from the individual. Critical Thinking reframes a soft skill as something measurable, personal and actionable, and helps people apply that self-awareness to real conversations and real workplace situations.”