I am encouraged to receive the positive feedback from readers on my little story entitled ‘The future of work will not be decided by algorithms or government alone - It will be decided by people life at a time’ published by newswav.com on 26 July, 2026. Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Anuwar Ali, former Vice Chancellor, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and President, Open Universiy Malaysia, said “Salam Prof Zul, TQ very much for sharing your vey appropriate article. Well done.” Dato' Syed Ahmad Idid, former High Court Judge & Director of KL Regional Commercial Arbitration, concurred “Thanks dear Prof Dr. Zulkifly. Well said.” Dato' Bijayo Adi Satria, Chairman of UA Advertising & a veteran media professional in Marketing Communications, and Auditor of Persatuan Aeroangkasa Myaerosatu, stated “The human touch and engagement is fundamental to human resource productivity. Never treat Labor as a factor of production in the same status as capital, land or machine and entrepreneurship as it will simply provide the cheapest value in terms of wages.” I really appreciate their quality time to share such valuable and prompt responses despite of their busy schedules.
I observed the practice of maximizing output, speed, and efficiency through technology while keeping human empathy, creativity & connection at the center of the process. In a world leaning heavily toward automation and artificial intelligence (AI), combining high productivity with a human touch is achieved across three core areas: (1) The Technology Mix - “Centaur” Workflow of AI-Assisted, Not AI-Replacement and Co-Piloting (workers act as directors who guide, edit, and personalize automated outputs); (2) Management: Human-Centric Leadership in ensuring psychological safety, outcome over hours and empathy-driven feedback; (3) Customer Experience: High-Tech Meets High-Touch through seamless escalation engaging conversations to a live human & personalization.
In my humbled opinion to achieve the highest productivity with a human touch in team management and workplace culture, leaders must design systems that value people as human beings, not just byproduct of a supportive, high-trust environment. We must build a culture where team members can admit mistakes early, voice disagreement, propose wild ideas without fear of punishment.
Zulkifly Baharom (hajizul50@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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