Lenny Rachitsky@lennysan
"The question that best predicts how a tech worker feels about their work in 2026 is no longer 'What do you do?' or 'Where do you work?' It’s 'What has AI done to your sense of who you are?'
Four archetypes emerged from our survey data, and you almost certainly recognize them:
1. The Energized (41%). The all-in adopters. They lead with “excited” (91%), “curious” (83%), and “hopeful” (59%). They’re the most optimistic group, the least burned out, and the only segment with a clearly positive read on their field. For them, AI truly seems like a superpower.
e.g. “Product has become fun again! You become an explorer, you play around . . . you spend long hours full of excitement. We’re in an amusement park.” —PM, Principal IC
2. The Conflicted (35%). The ambivalent center of gravity—and the largest group after the Amplified. Their signature emotions are “conflicted—holding positive and negative feelings at once” (68%)—and “curious” (64%), trailed closely by “overwhelmed” (56%) and “tired” (55%). They haven’t soured on AI; they’re just exhausted by the work of keeping up with it while holding two feelings at the same time.
e.g. “I’m simultaneously having the most fun I’ve had as a product builder and also feeling the most uncertainty I’ve felt. I’m confident I’ll be able to keep my skills sharp and adapt, but I’m not yet sure what it is that I’ll need to adapt into.” —PM, Senior IC
3. The Disoriented (12%). Defined almost entirely by one feeling: “disoriented—my role keeps shifting,” layered with “overwhelmed” (74%) and “tired” (73%). These are people watching their job change shape beneath them faster than they can find their footing again. They still think AI is somewhat useful. They’re not “refusers.” They’re just losing the thread of their role in the workplace.
e.g. “Things are so uncertain, we’re like farmers on the cusp of the industrial revolution. We know going into farming is the wisest long-term career choice, but we don’t see a clear path. This kind of uncertainty crowds out productivity.” —VP Product
4. The Resentful (12%). The burned-out and checked-out. Every one of them selected “resentful—I feel pressured to use AI,” and they cluster with “tired,” “conflicted,” and “overwhelmed.” They report the lowest optimism, the lowest willingness to recommend their field, and the lowest sense that AI is helping them at all. This is AI fatigue transformed into resistance."
“Tech overall kind of sucks right now. We used to adopt new technology because we were excited about the cool new things we could do. Now all we hear is ‘Use AI or you will lose your job’—and then people get fired anyway. I hate it.” —Director of Product
Full report: lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-tech-wor…
