The HRCI Research Hub brings together original studies, workforce polling, reports, and expert analysis, so you can act on what's happening now and prepare for what's next.
The State of HR Featured ReportsManaging the Changing Workplace: A Framework for HR
From return-to-office decisions and hybrid work to contractors and other non-traditional workers, this HRCI report explores the latest research and how HR can use data to make more informed, evidence-based workplace decisions.
Original research and expert analysis on the issues shaping HR today, from workforce safety and emerging technology to DEI and employee well-being.
From career paths to culture, this research identifies what actually separates HR professionals who are just getting by from those who are truly fulfilled—and what leaders can do to close that gap and build a more committed team.
This research uncovers where professional development is falling short, from misaligned training priorities to gaps in AI readiness, and what it takes to build a workforce equipped for what's next.
From bullying, political tension to substance use and violence prevention, this research covers workplace safety—what the data reveals, what's at stake, and what you can do to reduce risk and build a more resilient organization.
From rising absenteeism to safety risks, HRCI research reveals how extreme weather is reshaping workforce management and what HR can do now.
The State of HR
Based on HRCI’s survey of thousands of HR professionals, the State of HR report examines the issues defining the profession today. From AI and workplace culture to talent, leadership, and career growth, the report reveals how HR teams are adapting to change and preparing for the future. Explore the data, trends, and insights shaping the world of work below.
Download the Full ReportState of HR Spotlight Reports
Half of HR professionals work in environments marked by polarized viewpoints, and 4 in 10 describe their stress as extreme or high. Find out what the data reveals about conflict, mental health, and what it means for your organization.
HR professionals are broadly optimistic about their field — but over 4 in 10 are considering careers outside of it. Explore what's driving both the enthusiasm and the tension, and what it takes to build a team of true HR believers.
71% of HR professionals use AI regularly, yet more than half say implementing new technology is the area they feel least prepared to handle. See where the preparation gap is widest and what needs to change now.
83% of HR professionals believe remote work benefits organizations—but the debate is far from settled. Get the data on where HR stands on flexibility, productivity, and the return-to-office conversation.
More Insights for HR Professionals
Explore the issues shaping HR today and get the data you need to lead with confidence, make informed decisions, and move the profession forward.
Recovery friendly workplaces reduce absenteeism, improve retention, and strengthen workplace culture—yet most organizations haven't made meaningful progress. This HRCI and Fors Marsh research reveals why: stigma, undertrained HR teams, and weak leadership buy-in top the list. Understand where the gaps are and what organizations that get it right do differently.
Earning an HRCI certification builds earning power. Within four years, the median HRCI certificant earns 33% more than they did before getting certified. That's double the salary growth of comparable HR professionals over the same period. See what the data shows about the career and financial impact of HRCI certification.
HR is ready to lead, but is the organization ready to let it? This 2024 HRCI and MindEdge research report surfaces a striking disconnect: while 88% of HR professionals believe HR should drive business strategy, only half say leadership agrees. Add in underfunding, understaffing, and persistent burnout, and the case for rethinking HR's role has never been stronger.
AI is reshaping the workplace, and HR professionals are watching closely. This HRCI and MindEdge survey of HR practitioners reveals how the profession is navigating AI adoption, persistent burnout, rising turnover, and the evolving push and pull of remote work. Find out where your peers stand, and what the data means for the work you do every day.
Browse our complete library of research reports, guides, and frameworks. Whether you're building a business case, navigating a workforce challenge, or staying ahead of what's next, the intelligence you need is here.
Over three-quarters of HR professionals use AI weekly, but most have had little to no training. Learn how to build real confidence and capability starting today.
Explore how HR can turn AI adoption into a strategic advantage—balancing innovation with ethical responsibility.
This research-backed guide gives HR professionals the data and practical steps to build a recovery-friendly culture that reduces risk and supports your people.
The report explores the realities of managing DEI programs in today’s climate—where values alignment, stakeholder trust, and business performance are all on the line.
This report provides critical insights and actionable strategies for HR leaders to foster a more harmonious and productive work environment.
HRCI webinars go beyond the basics. Each session unpacks the trends, data, and real-world strategies HR professionals need to lead with confidence today and adapt to what's coming next.
News and perspectives on the issues driving the HR profession forward.
I've spent my career in and around the HR field, and one of the things that experience teaches you is to pay attention to early signals—the data points that don't make the headlines but tell you something important is shifting beneath the surface. So, when researchers at Stanford's Digital Economy Lab published a study last fall tracking employment outcomes for workers ages 22 to 25 in AI-exposed occupations, I couldn't stop thinking about it.
The finding was specific and striking: a 16% relative employment decline for early-career workers in those roles, while experienced workers in the same occupations held steady or grew. The researchers called these workers "canaries in the coal mine"—the first to experience what others haven't yet.
Entry-level roles have always done two things at once. They produce output, yes, but more importantly, they produce people. The junior employee processing claims, writing first drafts, building initial analyses, handling tier-one customer calls—that person is learning something that cannot be taught in a classroom or replicated in a training module. They are building judgment. They are accumulating the kind of tacit knowledge that only comes from doing real work, making real mistakes, and being close enough to someone more experienced to absorb how they think.
Generative AI is now very good at the procedural, checkable layer of that work. And organizations are reasonably drawing the logical conclusion: if AI can do it faster and cheaper, why hire someone to learn on the job? That logic misses what is lost in the bargain. Strip out the entry point, and the process by which organizations grow experienced people is interrupted, and the apprenticeship engine breaks.
I've watched this dynamic play out in other contexts. When organizations eliminate the roles where people learn, they discover the cost years later, when there's no internal pipeline ready to step into senior positions. The talent was never developed because the conditions for developing it were removed.
To be fair, the causation here is contested. Yale's Budget Lab finds no clean economy-wide link between AI and unemployment. June 2026 research from the New York Fed attributes a significant portion of the rise in young-graduate unemployment to remote work rather than to AI directly. According to that study, training remote workers is harder than training workers based in a physical office. The Stanford researchers themselves acknowledge their findings may reflect factors beyond generative AI alone.
Whether the mechanism is AI substitution, the difficulty of remote onboarding, or some combination, the direction is the same: early-career workers in high-exposure occupations are losing ground. Something is happening at the entry point of the workforce, and organizations that treat it as an abstraction rather than an organizational decision are going to feel the consequences.
Earlier this year, IBM's CHRO announced the company was tripling its entry-level hiring, explicitly including software developers, one of the occupations the Stanford study flagged. Her reasoning stayed with me: the companies that will be most successful three to five years from now are those that doubled down on entry-level hiring in this environment. AI can boost productivity, she said, but it cannot develop the next generation of technical leaders or innovators.
That's an organization choosing to protect its pipeline, even when the short-term math might argue otherwise. Not every company has IBM's resources to make that bet at scale. But every organization is making some version of it right now, whether they've thought about it in those terms or not.
The companies quietly reducing early-career headcount for efficiency are also placing a bet: that the pipeline can be rebuilt when they need it, that experienced talent will be available externally, that the apprenticeship engine can be restarted after being shut down.
I talk a lot about aligning organizational decisions with stated values. The decision on whether or not to invest in early-career talent reveals what an organization truly believes about how people grow.
About the Author Amy Schabacker Dufrane, Ed.D., SPHR, CAE, is CEO of HRCI, where she drives strategic conversations about building high-performing HR teams. An award-winning thought leader at the intersection of talent strategy and continuous learning, Dr. Dufrane is a celebrated keynote speaker on the human side of successful business strategy.
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Certificate in Managing the Hybrid Workforce