A growing number of employees are embracing the use of AI tools in the workplace, but many still aren’t sure how it can effectively help them, new research shows.
A Slack survey found that office workers are showing some signs of warm-up to AI, especially when it comes to increasing productivity and efficiency, but there still seems to be some way to go.
In fact, many workers simply want to use AI to offload some of their dullest and most tedious tasks so they can focus on more creative or enriching work, the research shows.
AI boost
Findings from Slack’s Workforce Lab surveyed more than 10,000 employees around the world and revealed some significant differences in opinions across seniority levels when it comes to using AI.
The survey found that the vast majority of executives (96%) felt an urgency to integrate AI into their business as quickly as possible, with the number wanting to do so “in the next 18 months” increasing from 5% to 35 % of all executives. a 7x growth since September 2023.
“Companies have urgent, ambitious goals for AI in the enterprise and our research shows there are huge productivity benefits to be had – but many leaders are still figuring out how to boost employee adoption,” said Denise Dresser, CEO of Slack.
“While this is truly a huge shift in the future of work, there are simple steps every company can take starting today to help employees learn about AI while maintaining trust.”
When it comes to desk workers, AI is playing a more prominent role, with usage up 23% since the January 2024 survey and 60% since September 2023.
Nearly all (81%) of workers said AI tools helped improve productivity, and just under half (47%) of office workers said they were happy AI could perform the tasks of their job (compared to 42 % early 2024). )
Many office workers also suffer from burnout, the research shows. About a third of employees say they are regularly stressed, and 30% say they feel no passion for their work.
With many having to prioritize administrative tasks over actual high-quality work, the opportunity for AI to step in and alleviate this pressure is being warmly embraced by many employees, the survey found.
“We are at a crucial turning point with AI. If we want to make the most of what AI has to offer, without simply increasing stress and burnout, it is up to us as leaders to equip our teams with tools they can trust and that can help manage employees who extra time doing the most rewarding work,” said Christina Janzer, head of Slack Workforce Labs.