The Importance of Human Connection for the Future of Work

Human Centric Care as the Future of Work

Human interaction is not simply emotional — it is biological.

There is emerging research around what Laurel refers to as magnetic heart resonance. The idea that when we engage in human-to-human contact, our bodies respond in measurable ways.

Laurel A. Wilson, an internationally recognized maternal-child health expert, lactation consultant, author, and speaker with over three decades of experience in women’s health, breastfeeding, and perinatal education backs up the importance of coaching and human contact as a fundamental resource for equitable healthcare.

In other words, human connection is not metaphorical. It is physiological.

When one person is distressed, another person can feel it. When one person is calm, that calm can transfer. This is core to emotional co-regulation — a concept deeply embedded in early childhood development and parenting science.

“When you’re around someone who is struggling emotionally, you start to sympathize. If you’ve had a similar experience, you may even empathize. Part of that is because the magnetic resonance of our hearts begins to entrain to one another…we can actually feel what they’re feeling.”

This entrainment is one reason why human interaction in healthcare and parenting support produces outcomes that extend beyond information exchange. It creates attunement.

Mirror Neurons and Emotional Intelligence

Neuroscience further supports the necessity of human-to-human contact.

“We have mirror neurons in our brains. When we make eye-to-eye contact with another human..not typing on our computers..we can feel their emotions because our mirror neurons are mirroring what the person in front of us is experiencing.”

Mirror neurons help explain why sitting across from a coach, therapist, or educator feels different than reading advice online.

Eye contact.
Tone shifts.
Subtle facial cues.
Micro-expressions.

These are not trivial details. They are part of how humans process safety and belonging.

In parenting, emotional intelligence is built through this exact process. Children learn to regulate through co-regulation. Parents learn to regulate through support. Human-to-human contact becomes the vehicle for nervous system stability.

AI can provide scripts.
It cannot provide attunement.

This shift toward human-centric care is not only happening in healthcare.

A recent analysis in Inc. examining customer service roles AI is unlikely to replace points to a clear pattern: the more a job requires emotional intelligence, complex judgment, de-escalation, and relational nuance, the harder it is to automate.

Roles that depend on empathy, context, and human interpretation remain resilient. The market is validating principles of neuroscience.

AI performs best when tasks are predictable and data-driven but it struggles when situations are emotionally layered, ambiguous, or relationally sensitive.

The Risk of Replacing Human Interaction in Healthcare

Laurel is clear that technology has value. But she also expresses caution.

“That’s something we have not yet been able to do with AI systems, and I hope we never fully replace it. Humanity and connection heal on a very deep and profound level.”

Healing is relational.

Especially in parenting, where individuals are often navigating sleep deprivation, identity shifts, postpartum changes, developmental uncertainty, and emotional overload.

At their most vulnerable moments, individuals do not just need answers. They need:

• Compassion

• Emotional intelligence

• Validation

• Context

• Shared humanity

Which is why she emphasizes:

“Having coaches working with families when they are at their most vulnerable is a critical piece of healthcare.” Some view coaching as a luxury and not as an extension of necessary healthcare.

Why Human Connection Is Still the Gold Standard

Although AI is becoming more sophisticated, it is unlikely to replace coaching. Systems and processes will continue to become automated. The leverage of human-centric service over an AI therapist or chat service is embedded in our biological coding.

Human-to-human contact regulates nervous systems.
Human interaction builds emotional intelligence.
Human connection fosters trust, safety, and transformation.

In situations like parenting, where the stakes include a child’s emotional development, confidence, and lifelong relationship patterns, relational support cannot be outsourced entirely to automation. Access to information will continue to democratize itself; but real application and sensibility is to be explored.