Dropbox study: managers of thriving staff reinvest AI time savings in people

October 20, 2026, 15:00Source: Dropbox

Managers who lead Dropbox's most engaged and high-performing employees are more than twice as likely to invest AI time savings in coaching, one-on-ones and development, according to new internal research from the company. Dropbox says these managers also share many of the durable skills seen in their teams.

Key points

Dropbox internal research says managers of thriving employees are more than twice as likely to invest AI time savings in coaching, one-on-ones and development.
These managers were 85% more likely to be thriving themselves than other managers.
92% of the most senior managers of thriving employees reported clarity on team performance, versus 74% of other senior managers.
Gallup found 50% of CHROs are not confident managers can help employees use AI effectively, even though 99% call AI important to strategy.
Dropbox recommends four steps: model good habits, reinvest AI time, connect people and give employees more agency.

What the Dropbox research found

Dropbox previously studied a group it calls thriving employees, meaning staff who show both high engagement and high performance. According to the company, that research showed thriving was not simply about using AI more often. These employees used AI to raise their impact, but also protected time for focus and recovery, invested in relationships and growth, and relied on human capabilities such as awareness, adaptability, judgment and connection. Dropbox calls these durable skills.

This year the company looked at the people who manage those employees. Its internal research suggests they share many of the same skills. Compared with other managers, managers of thriving employees:

Were 85% more likely to be thriving themselves
Were more than twice as likely to invest AI time savings in coaching, one-on-ones and development
Had a clearer view of team performance: 92% of the most senior managers reported clarity on performance against expectations, compared with 74% of other senior managers

The post was written by Dale Shearin, an Analytics Business Partner on the People Analytics team at Dropbox.

Three habits of these managers

Dropbox groups the findings into three habits. The first is that they model strong performance and behaviors. These leaders were more likely to be high performers (46% vs 33%), reported higher scores for making good progress on their own objectives (95% vs 84%), and were more satisfied with the balance between deep focus and collaboration (64% vs 52%).

Dropbox's 2026 Life in Virtual First survey points to specific working habits. Managers of thriving employees were more likely to send async follow-up notes after meetings (61% vs 43%), avoid responding to messages during focus time or after hours (26% vs 16%), share meeting agendas in advance (61% vs 53%) and collaborate effectively across time zones (61% vs 53%).

The second habit is reinvesting time in people. Dropbox notes that AI can help anyone save hours, and that what sets these managers apart is how they use that time. Engaged, high-performing employees were more likely to report meaningful career development discussions (90% vs 70%) and performance feedback that helped them improve (94% vs 75%).

The third habit is staying close to progress without getting in the way. Among thriving team members, 99% said they understood what was expected of them, versus 80% of others, and 99% felt their thoughts and ideas were valued, versus 81%. They also rated their managers more highly on coaching, development and enablement, citing valuable feedback, career conversations, clear priorities and leaders who removed barriers.

The readiness gap and external data

Dropbox places its findings alongside other research. It cites Gallup, which found a significant gap between companies' desire to use AI and managers' readiness to help their teams do so. According to that research, 99% of chief human resources officers say AI is important to their strategy, yet 50% are not confident managers can help employees use it effectively.

The company also points to the 2026 Microsoft Work Trend Index. In it, employees whose managers actively modeled AI use reported greater perceived value from AI and greater trust in agentic AI. Microsoft also found that employees were more AI-ready when leaders created psychological safety around experimentation.

Four steps for managers

Dropbox offers four starting points for leaders who want to help teams do their best work with AI.

Set yourself up for success: reflect on your own ways of working and define team norms around focus time, async follow-ups, advance agendas, after-hours replies and time zones.
Turn new capacity into better management: pick one recurring task AI has made faster and use some of the freed time for a coaching check-in, development conversation or recognition, ideally booked into the calendar.
Be a connector: build a simple networking map with direct reports, identify key stakeholders for their projects and make introductions where a connection could help.
Create room for agency: make outcomes and responsibilities clear, and ask where employees are waiting for input when they should not have to. Then clarify or remove one recurring approval, decision or handoff.

What it means for managers

Dropbox argues that, more than five years into Virtual First, how people work deserves as much attention as the work itself. As AI changes how people spend their time, the company says managers have an opportunity to be more intentional about filling the space it creates. The findings come from Dropbox's own internal research, so they describe its workforce rather than a broad sample, but they give managers concrete habits to test with their own teams.