Report says tensions over AI, engagement and office returns may stem from people drifting apart
Many of today's workplace tensions, from resistance to AI to disputes over return-to-office mandates, may stem from the same underlying problem: people within organisations growing apart, according to a new report.
The inaugural State of Organizational Drift 2026 report, published by the Center for Organizational Drift, defines organisational drift as "the natural tendency of people within a human system to grow apart over time."
"Our position is clear: every human system is subject to drift," Matt Poepsel, founder of the centre, wrote in the report's opening letter.
The report says drift can occur even among colleagues who work closely together.
"People can sit beside each other and still be miles apart in the ways that matter to the work," it says.
The report points to four tensions it says dominated 2026: AI adoption, pressure on managers, falling engagement, and decisions over where people work.
"The debates look separate. The mechanics underneath may not be," it says.
Forces and counterforces
The report sets out four forces that pull people apart (Doubt, Self-interest, Withdrawal and Discord) and four counterforces that bring them together: Hope, Mutuality, Commitment and Synchrony.
It also proposes a concept called Corrective Effort, defined as "the effort spent repairing or working around failures of connection and coordination."
The report argues that the more effort goes into avoidable repair, the less remains for work that moves the organisation forward.
It describes its claim that drift is the default as "a research-informed theoretical position, not a claim that every organisation is currently deteriorating."
Listening for drift
To spot drift, the report suggests leaders pay attention to language, a practice it calls the Pronoun Tell.
"'We decided' and 'they decided' place the speaker in different relationships to a decision," it says.
The report also offers a six-item Drift Self-Audit. It asks teams how often patterns, such as reopened decisions and handoffs that need extra meetings to rebuild context, occurred in the previous 30 days.
According to the report, the centre's planned annual measurement programme will track Hope, Mutuality, Commitment and Synchrony alongside Corrective Effort, and test whether its early pilot findings hold in broader samples.
Poepsel described holding human systems together amid accelerating change as "the defining leadership challenge of our age."
"Technology is advancing, expectations are shifting, and the arrangements that inherently connected us yesterday need our attention today. When those connections fray, people bear the strain and the work suffers," Poepsel added.
