Feb 20, 2018   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Majority of Employees Worldwide Think Artificial Intelligence Can Make Work Better

According to a global survey of nearly 3,000 employees across eight nations conducted by The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated, four out of five employees surveyed see significant opportunity for artificial intelligence (AI) to create a more engaging and empowering workplace experience, yet admit a lack of transparency from their employers is a primary driver of fear and concern.

The Engaging Opportunity: Working Smarter with AI survey conducted with Coleman Parkes Research explores how employees – both hourly and salaried from a variety of industries in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. – believe emerging technologies should be used to improve the future of work.

News Facts

  • Hey HAL, can you help me? Employees around the world will embrace AI to make work easier and fairer
    • Employees from all eight nations would welcome AI if it simplified or automated time-consuming internal processes (64 percent), helped better balance their workload (64 percent), increased fairness in subjective decisions (62 percent), or ensured managers made better choices affecting individual employees (57 percent).
    • Workers in Mexico are most enthusiastic about AI’s benefits while Canadian and U.S. employees are also ready to welcome the technology. Four out of every five survey respondents from Mexico felt AI would simplify time-consuming processes (81 percent/Mexico, 65 percent/Canada, 62 percent/U.S.) and better balance their workload (84 percent/Mexico, 64 percent/U.S., 61 percent/Canada).
    • The two countries where employees are least likely to embrace AI: France and Germany.
  • Fear of the unknown: Lack of communication leaves employees feeling apprehensive
    • According to the survey, three out of every five organizations (58 percent) internationally have yet to discuss the potential impact of AI on their workforce with employees. However, two-thirds of global employees (61 percent) say they’d feel more comfortable if employers were more transparent about what the future may hold.
    • The U.S. is the most secretive, with 67 percent of employees reporting they have no knowledge of their organization’s plans for AI. Employees in Canada (66 percent) and the United Kingdom (62 percent) are similarly in the dark. More than two-thirds (67 percent) of employees in Mexico say their organization has openly discussed AI with employees.
    • Some U.S. industries are more transparent than others. Organizations in financial services/banking (38 percent), manufacturing (35 percent), and logistics/transportation (27 percent) are already discussing AI’s future impact on the workforce with employees.
    • In Canada, a similar finding: 37 percent of financial services organizations, 33 percent of manufacturing industries, 27 percent of logistics/transportation organizations have discussed the topic openly.
  • The generation1 gap: Gen Z and Baby Boomers have very different opinions
    • Globally, 88 percent of Gen Z employees believe AI can improve their job in some manner. However, just 70 percent of Baby Boomers feel the same way.
    • In the U.S., Gen Z sees the biggest benefit of AI as its ability to create an overall fairer working environment (48 percent). Canadian Gen Z employees hope it will bring more fairness to performance reviews (50 percent).
    • Younger millennials, older millennials, and Gen X employees in both countries think the biggest benefit of AI for them is elimination of manual processes and time wasted on basic, administrative work, each of which detracts from more rewarding workplace activities.
    • When it comes to Baby Boomers working in the U.S., 38 percent either don’t think or aren’t sure how AI would improve their job.
  • Cautious optimism: Employees hope AI will improve, not replace, their role
    • While four out of five employees (82 percent) see opportunity for AI to improve their jobs, about a third (34 percent) expressed concern that AI could someday replace them altogether, including 42 percent of Gen Z employees.

Supporting Quotes

  • Joyce Maroney, executive director, The Workforce Institute at Kronos
    “Organizations are making significant investments in benefits, technology, and innovative workplaces, yet employees are working more than ever and engagement has remained stagnant for decades. While emerging technologies always generate uncertainty, this survey shows employees worldwide share a cautious optimism that artificial intelligence is a promising tool that could pave the way for a game-changing employee experience if it is used to add fairness and eliminate low-value workplace processes and tasks, allowing employees to focus on the parts of their roles that really matter.”
  • Ian Parkes, director, Coleman Parkes Research
    “Large, mid-market, and even small businesses are preparing to implement AI technology but to be truly successful the implementation must embrace the workforce in an open and transparent way. AI will have a positive impact providing fairer management and increased workforce flexibility and productivity. Fear is down to the unknown and better communication will allow the undoubted benefits of AI to be maximized across an organization.”
  • David Creelman, CEO, Creelman Research
    “The advent of artificial intelligence should, on the whole, be a very good thing; many jobs will change dramatically and employees will be presented with new opportunities to learn new skills. Individuals who proactively embrace the change will experience more of the upside. It is important for employees to pay attention to what is happening and adapt to, rather than avoid, the adoption of this technology.”
  • Christian Kromme, entrepreneur and futurist speaker
    “I believe that in the near future every job, routine, or task that is in any way boring or not worthy of our attention will almost certainly be automated by artificial intelligence and robotics. At the same time, I believe that AI will augment and amplify human capabilities. AI will make us more intelligent, more productive and even more creative. As a result, AI will advance humanity toward a more meaningful future with meaningful jobs.”

Supporting Resources

  • Note to editors: Please refer to this research as the “Engaging Opportunity: Working Smarter with AI” survey by The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated.
  • Register to attend the webinar “Employee Experience Falling Short of Expectations: The Perception Gap You Can’t Afford to Ignore” with Kronos and SHRM on Wednesday, Feb. 21.
  • Connect with Kronos via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

About The Workforce Institute at Kronos

The Workforce Institute at Kronos provides research and education on critical workplace issues facing organizations around the globe. By bringing together thought leaders, The Workforce Institute at Kronos is uniquely positioned to empower organizations with the knowledge and information they need to manage their workforce effectively and provide a voice for employees on important workplace issues. A hallmark of The Workforce Institute’s research is balancing the needs and desires of diverse employee populations with the needs of organizations. For additional information, visit www.workforceinstitute.org.

About Kronos Incorporated

Kronos is a leading provider of workforce management and human capital management cloud solutions. Kronos industry-centric workforce applications are purpose-built for businesses, healthcare providers, educational institutions, and government agencies of all sizes. Tens of thousands of organizations — including half of the Fortune 1000® — and more than 40 million people in over 100 countries use Kronos every day. Visit www.kronos.com. Kronos: Workforce Innovation That Works.

Footnote 1: Generations are defined as follows: Gen Z, 18-20; Young Millennials, 21-27; Older Millennials, 28-37; Gen X, 38-54; Baby Boomers, 55+

Survey Methodology

Research conducted on behalf of Kronos Incorporated by Coleman Parkes Research, an independent U.K.-based research company. Survey data was collected between Nov. 2017 and Jan. 2018 from 2,807 employees using an online quantitative methodology. Survey participants were sourced from eight different markets, including the Australia, Canada (English and French-speaking), France, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. Survey participants included both hourly and salaried employees from organizations of all sizes across a variety of industries. For further questions about survey methodology, contact Daniel.Gouthro@Kronos.com.

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