Survey of 700 Digital Workplace Leaders Finds Most Organizations Still Mid-Transformation — Even as AI Raises the Stakes

SAN FRANCISCO, April 14, 2026 — Reworked, the leading community of employee experience and digital workplace professionals created by Simpler Media Group (SMG), today released the 2026 State of the Digital Workplace report — the ninth annual edition of its authoritative benchmark for digital workplace leaders worldwide.

The report draws on survey data from over 700 digital workplace executives and practitioners across a wide range of industries and organizational sizes, providing a comprehensive view of how organizations are navigating market pressures, technological disruption and the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence in the enterprise.

Key Findings From the 2026 Report

  • Digital Employee Experience (DEX) is broken: Fewer than one in five organizations (19%) say their digital workplace is “frictionless and productive” for employees. The majority still need significant improvements to DEX.
  • A rush to agentic AI: Even though most organizations are still rolling out generative AI tools, nearly half (49%) already list agentic AI as a top priority for the next year.
  • Technology overload is real: A majority of respondents (69%) find the constant evolution of the tech and tool landscape challenging, and 54% cite tech limitations and legacy systems as a key barrier.
  • Most digital workplaces lack maturity: Only 41% of organizations rate their digital workplace as fully mature, while the rest require improvements or lack a systematic approach.

“Most organizations are navigating two challenges at once: strengthening the fundamentals of governance, experience and enablement while keeping pace with rapid AI adoption. Nearly half are already focused on agentic AI, which tells you how quickly the landscape is moving. The good news is that the organizations leading on both fronts aren’t choosing between them — they’re building the foundation and the future simultaneously. This report shows how.”
— Brice Dunwoodie, Founder & CEO, Simpler Media Group

“After hearing from more than 700 digital workplace leaders, the most striking pattern is consistent: organizations that invest in strong governance and employee enablement outperform their peers across every dimension we measure. We also found something unexpected — while AI is creating new roles faster than it’s eliminating them, most organizations don’t yet have the enablement programs to prepare their people for those roles. That’s a gap that will become more costly the longer it goes unaddressed.”
— Sarah Kimmel, VP of Research, Simpler Media Group

Access the Report

The full 2026 State of the Digital Workplace report is available for purchase now at the Reworked research store. For additional research, editorial coverage and community resources, visit Reworked.

About Reworked

Reworked is the leading digital community for employee experience and digital workplace professionals, published by Simpler Media Group. Through editorial coverage, original research and digital events, Reworked helps practitioners navigate the future of work. Learn more at reworked.co.

About Simpler Media Group

Simpler Media Group (SMG) is a B2B technology information and research services company serving a global community of more than 7 million digital business leaders. SMG publishes CMSWire, Reworked and VKTR, and operates a research division producing annual benchmark reports, market guides and custom insights for enterprise clients. SMG’s annual IMPACT Awards recognize outstanding achievement in customer and employee experience, with honors for both practitioners and vendors. Learn more at simplermedia.com.

Media Contact:
Kelly Rosoff
VP, Marketing, Simpler Media Group
[email protected]
(800) 939-1913, ext. 701