AI is reshaping the workplace, and executives and employees are asking the same question: will it come at the cost of human connection? New data shows they share this concern about AI’s impact on company culture. The 2026 Business Generosity Report, released by goBeyondProfit and Georgia CEO, finds that the companies best positioned to protect that connection have already built a culture of generosity.

The demand for generosity in business is at an all-time high. 82% of employees report that it’s very or extremely important to work for a generous company, up from 49% in 2019. Nearly every employee is watching for proof that generosity exists in the company they work for and rewards employers who deliver it:

  • 94% of employees say experiencing business generosity has a significant impact on their day-to-day work. Specifically, they are better able to serve customers (90%), more energized to collaborate with fellow employees (89%), more engaged and productive (89%), more likely to work harder and find new ideas (88%), and more loyal to their employer (88%).

  • 80% of employees have made at least one career choice based on a company’s generosity, up from 66% in 2025. These decisions have real financial implications: 46% have stayed at a company longer even though they believe they could earn more elsewhere, and 18% have taken an actual pay cut to work somewhere generous.

When employees see generosity in action, they are willing to earn less, work harder, and stay longer.

99% of executives say they are increasing or maintaining investment in business generosity, but data shows these investments are not where the returns are the greatest.

This year’s report gives executives a category-by-category guide to what investments earn genuine credit and what has become simply table stakes, in other words, what employees now expect from any decent company.

The clearest opportunity to stand out is in how employers implement AI. Employees aren’t asking for certainty. They’re asking for a few specific things, yet less than half of executives’ report delivering any of them:

  • Clear communication about how AI affects their work

  • A voice in how AI changes their role

  • Time and support to adapt to AI

Beyond that, 3 out of 4 employees say their company is navigating the most significant workplace transformation in a generation without company values as a visible compass.

“Positioned correctly, the data shows that generosity can directly answer the shared concern that AI will cost the workplace its human connection,” said Megan McCamey, President of goBeyondProfit. “Companies building a track record now — not as a charitable line item, but as an operating standard for how people are treated at every point of contact — are the ones positioned to convert this year’s uncertainty into ongoing trust.”

The 2026 Business Generosity Report is based on concurrent surveys of executives and employees conducted between June 25 and July 18. Read the full methodology.

About goBeyondProfit

goBeyondProfit is a statewide alliance of more than 2,100 business leaders committed to operating generously and improving lives.

Media gallery

About The Author
Business Wire