When AI Puts Jobs at Risk, Make Employees Feel They Matter
"Every morning in a stand-up meeting, I just reported on the progress and no one asked me for my opinion. I felt like my thoughts and ideas didn't matter."Kim Seung-hyun (35), a developer who worked at a SaaS startup Company A, experienced severe burnout as he entered his third year. The company grew rapidly, but he felt he was being treated as just a "machine that writes code." With the advent of AI, I felt that developers in the company were increasingly ignored. Kim regained his "original mindset" after the new CTO was appointed. The new CTO reorganized the team structure and introduced a system called "employee-led innovation time." Every Friday afternoon, developers were asked to spend time on projects that they thought were important. He repeatedly explained that in the age of AI, people will become more important. Kim said, "At first, I was skeptical. However, I proposed an idea to improve security vulnerabilities that I had been thinking about for a long time, and surprisingly, it was seriously considered." Kim's proposal to improve security vulnerabilities, which was ignored by the previous CTO system, was eventually integrated into the company's core services. He was designated as the leader of the project and became a boost to the new business. Kim said, "I felt that I was not just a part of this organization, but a valuable person. Knowing that my voice is important has revived my passion for work."