Navigating the digital frontier: thriving in remote work through AI and human connection

This study explores how integrating artificial intelligence (AI) fosters thriving in remote work by combining AI adoption with organisational understanding and social connections. Utilising a quantitative survey of remote workers from three large US universities, we tested a moderated mediation model examining AI adoption, AI-assisted learning, social ties, organisational understanding, and thriving at work. Findings indicate that while AI adoption promotes continuous learning, genuine thriving depends on fulfilling competence, autonomy, and relatedness needs. Organisational understanding and robust social ties are critical for AI to drive thriving among remote workers. This research contributes to the AI in remote work literature by highlighting organisational and social factors as key conditions for AI's positive impact on employee thriving, aligning with self-determination theory. Organisations should support AI with strong social connections and comprehensive role understanding to enhance employee well-being and growth.