To the surprise of almost nobody, a new research study has found that the world’s relationship with work is strained. At the same time, however, employee expectations are rising, pointing to rising tension between companies and their staff in the coming years.
But guess what? Artificial intelligence (AI) may just come to the rescue.
These were key insights of HP’s new Work Relationship Index, (WRI) released at the HP Amplify Partner Conference in Las Vegas this week.
The WRI surveyed more than 15,600 respondents across 12 countries to explore employees’ relationships with work around the world. It found that a mere 27% of knowledge workers report a healthy work relationship, while a significant 58% say their expectations have increased over the past three years.
There is one nuance in these findings to which organisations across Africa will need to pay close attention: rising expectations are far more pronounced in growing economies, at 71%, compared to 50% of workers in mature economies.
A similar gap was found in knowledge workers’ expectations that AI would make people’s jobs easier: in growing economies, 76% said it would help with their jobs and 75% said it would make their work more interesting, compared to 48% and 44%, respectively, in mature economies.
Gauyente Sanmartin, HP senior vice president and division president of commercial systems and displays solutions, told Gadget: “The future of work is fundamentally going to change across the globe. AI is going to help workers in three areas: what we call the unproductive tasks, like summarising this meeting for me; what we call the productive tasks, like taking notes; and the third thing is what we call superpowers. Superpowers are things you could not do before. For example, I am a product manager and in the past I needed the IT team to sketch me an image of a future PC. Now I can say to my IT manager I can draw it myself.
“These three buckets of unproductive, productive and superpowers are very personal. So one for you that is productive, for me it is not, and maybe it is a superpower. These three things we’re seeing across all regions. What changes is the acceptance of these things. What changes is the way of working with AI, depending on the region. The US and UK are much more open to it and are less concerned than in Europe, or in Asia and especially in China.”
The WRI concludes that business leaders must effectively communicate the benefits of AI and educate employees on how to integrate it into their work processes. This will help drive better business outcomes, while strengthening individuals’ relationships with work.
However, the survey showed that uncertainty persists regarding how best to use AI and take full advantage of it:
- Almost 2 in 5 (42%) individuals feel unsure of when to use AI in the workplace.
- 41% feel ill-equipped to harness AI’s full potential in their role.
- With 73% of business leaders and 66% of knowledge workers advocating for proper AI training, there’s a clear call for organisations to prioritise upskilling initiatives to empower their workforce in embracing AI technologies.
Stella Low, chief communications officer of HP, said: “In an evolving work landscape where businesses are striving to unlock heightened engagement, retention, and productivity, as well as keeping their employees inspired, the strategic integration of AI emerges as a potent force for transformation. Knowledge workers around the world are looking to senior leadership to show them how to navigate the AI terrain effectively: the stage is set for business leaders to seize the opportunity to both empower their employees and drive success.”
* Download the full Work Relationship Index ‘AI in the Workplace’ report at http://www.hp.com/wri