AI improving productivity but employees not won over just yet

Global workers are becoming more acclimatized to the presence of AI tools in their daily work, seeing the positive impact on productivity and a reduction in the burden of repetitive tasks.

Around one in four desk workers around the world have now gained experience in using AI in their work, as usage increased 24% over the past quarter as of January 2024, compared to September 2023 (one in five).

Research among 10,000 global workers conducted Slack’s Workforce Labs also found that one in three desk workers have used automation tools as part of their job.

Around 80% of employees that have used AI reported improved productivity, particularly relating to tasks such as writing assistance, automating workflows, and summarizing content.

However, despite growing use and productivity gains, not all desk workers are convinced about the technology.

Of those that have used the technology, 42% said they were “excited” for AI and automation to “handle tasks from their current job” while 31% were “neutral” and 27% said they were “concerned”.

Around four in ten (41%) desk workers reported spending time on tasks that are “low value, repetitive, or lack meaningful contribution to their core job functions”.

The research also found a correlation between the amount of time workers spend on “low value work” and their excitement they expressed for AI and automation to handle these tasks in their current job.

HR will be pivotal in shaping the future of AI in the workplace

As AI tools become more prevalent in the workplace, employees will increasingly need to be provided with comprehensive guidance and policies to manage AI use, or even provide access to it.

Slack found that employees that have defined AI guidelines are nearly six times more likely to have tried AI tools, compared with desk workers whose companies have no guidelines around AI usage.

Speaking to UNLEASH about the research, Christina Janzer, senior vice president of Research and Analytics at Slack, said that the findings show a “need” for AI within business but that leaders, including those in HR, need to be at the vanguard of ongoing adoption.

Our research shows that firms who fail to provide guidance or instruction on harnessing AI may be inhibiting employees from giving it a try, with close to half of desk workers saying they’ve received no guidance from their leaders or organization on how to use AI tools.Our research shows that firms who fail to provide guidance or instruction on harnessing AI may be inhibiting employees from giving it a try, with close to half of desk workers saying they’ve received no guidance from their leaders or organization on how to use AI tools.

Even workers that had guidelines that limited the use of AI reported more experimentation with AI tools than employees with no guidelines at all.

Janzer said that HR leaders can collaborate with other functions within the business to provide such guidelines to ensure employees “feel empowered to experiment with the technology and see how it can best support their role”.

With nearly all executives feeling pressure to implement AI tools and half saying they feel a “high degree” of pressure to do so, according to the research, buy-in from desk workers on impending technology adoption will become even more crucial.

“Employees need to know which tools they can trust, and so it’s vital everyone understands what happens to any data they share with a particular service,” Janzer added.

“Our research shows leaders are under immense pressure to adopt AI and not be left behind, but they'll only be successful by implementing AI and automation tools that are trusted, intuitive, and embedded in the flow of work, and by building processes that keep a human in the loop.”