RPP+ · Hanging Out with David Pasqualone & Friends
AI Adoption at Work: Overcoming Fear & Saving Time
With Dr. Gleb Tsipursky · Hosted by David Pasqualone
What could change in your business if AI helped with the work that consumes your day—and your team felt comfortable using it?
Watch or listen to the conversation
Join David and Gleb for a practical conversation about workplace resistance, business workflows, and the questions AI raises for leaders.
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Listen to the audio
How can businesses approach AI adoption at work?
In this conversation, Dr. Gleb Tsipursky argues that successful adoption involves understanding people’s concerns and helping them apply AI to their own work. He discusses job fears, professional identity, and social stigma, then illustrates possible uses in outreach, email drafting, and meeting preparation.
The human side of bringing AI to work
Buying access to an AI tool does not explain how employees feel about using it. Some worry about their jobs. Others question what AI means for the skills they have spent years developing. Still others use it privately because they expect criticism from colleagues.
Gleb returns to Hanging Out with David Pasqualone & Friends to explore these pressures and the ideas behind his book, The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: From Resistance to Results. David brings a business owner’s perspective, asking what listeners can actually do with the tools and how that might change their workday.
The conversation also considers why time saved by an individual may not translate into better results for the business. Gleb’s central argument is that motivation, trust, and workplace culture deserve attention alongside the technology.
Three barriers Gleb describes
Fear of job loss
Employees may worry that using AI means helping train their own replacement. Gleb calls this group “AI alarmists.”
Professional identity
People can feel threatened when a tool appears to perform work central to their expertise. Gleb describes these employees as “pragmatic resistors.”
Social stigma
Some people use AI but hesitate to discuss it. Gleb calls them “reluctant adopters” and explains how hidden usage can limit shared learning.
Three business workflows explored in the episode
1. Prospect research and outreach
Gleb describes a client example that combines prospect research with tailored outreach. David relates it to the time salespeople spend gathering information and composing messages manually. The discussion illustrates how a connected workflow can handle several steps of a recurring task.
2. Email drafts that reflect your voice
Gleb explains an approach to learning from past emails, producing sample replies, and refining them through feedback. In this workflow, the person reviews the draft and decides whether to send or edit it. David also asks about organizing inboxes and recovering legitimate messages from spam.
3. Meeting preparation
The third example is a meeting brief assembled from relevant context, such as calendar information, prior correspondence, and documents. Gleb describes how this can help someone move between meetings with a clearer understanding of the people and topics involved.
These are examples from the conversation. The access, integrations, and review needed will depend on the workflow and tools used.
Productivity, purpose, and human oversight
David and Gleb also discuss what people do with time saved through AI. Can it support more meaningful work and stronger business results? What happens when people hide their usage or become overly dependent on the tools?
In the final part of the interview, they raise concerns about AI safety, loss of control, and oversight. Gleb also shares his personal comparisons of AI products during the episode.
Episode chapters
- 00:00 Welcome back, Dr. Gleb Tsipursky
- 01:09 What AI means for business owners
- 05:46 Adapting AI to existing workflows
- 07:45 Choosing AI tools: Gleb’s perspective
- 09:19 The psychology of AI adoption at work
- 10:31 Job fears, professional identity, and social stigma
- 15:30 Workflow 1: Prospect research and outreach
- 19:41 Workflow 2: Email drafts in your voice
- 21:55 Organizing email and checking spam
- 22:28 ChatGPT and Claude: Gleb’s comparison
- 23:57 Workflow 3: Meeting preparation
- 25:03 Connect with Gleb and explore his book
- 26:10 AI safety, oversight, and loss-of-control concerns
- 28:42 Productivity, purpose, and overreliance on AI
- 31:32 Closing thoughts
Meet Dr. Gleb Tsipursky
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is the CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts and the author of The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: From Resistance to Results, published by Georgetown University Press. His work addresses AI adoption and the human side of workplace change.
Connect with Gleb
- Explore the book and sample chapters
- Connect with Dr. Gleb Tsipursky on LinkedIn
- Visit Disaster Avoidance Experts
- View the book at Georgetown University Press
When requesting a LinkedIn connection, mention that you heard him on Hanging Out with David Pasqualone & Friends, as Gleb requests in the episode.
Questions about this episode
What is this episode about?
David Pasqualone and Dr. Gleb Tsipursky discuss AI adoption at work, the emotional barriers employees face, and examples of applying AI to everyday business tasks.
Why do employees resist AI adoption?
Gleb identifies three recurring concerns: fear of losing work, threats to professional identity, and social stigma about using AI. He explains why leaders need to understand those concerns when introducing the tools.
What AI workflows does Gleb discuss?
His examples include researching prospects and preparing outreach, drafting email replies in a person’s voice, and creating meeting briefs from relevant context. These examples depend on the tools, access, and setup available.
Should AI-written emails be sent automatically?
For the email reply workflow discussed here, Gleb recommends creating drafts, reviewing them, and editing as needed before clicking send.
Where can I learn about Gleb’s book?
Visit the linked book resource page for The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: From Resistance to Results, including sample chapters and purchase information.
Keep the conversation going
Which recurring task would you most like help with: outreach, email, or meeting preparation? Share this episode with a business owner or teammate, and talk about where you would start.
Guest resources and further reading
Gleb’s official biography · Book resources · Publisher information