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Employers and employees alike understand the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) for dramatically boosting productivity, but availability of clear guidelines and training is still wanting, according to work management platform Asana’s The State of AI at Work Report.
Powered by insights from its Work Innovation Lab, the new Asana report underscores the growing role of AI technology in the workplace, revealing that 36% of employees in the United States (U.S.) and United Kingdom (U.K.) now use AI at work at least weekly.
Employees are recognising AI’s strategic value. More than half or 55% of executives expect their companies to use AI for goal-setting, and 61% are confident that AI will help their companies reach their objectives more effectively than traditional methods.
This confidence in AI’s strategic importance is further highlighted by the more than half or 51% of executives who are willing to pay a premium for workplace tools if they are powered by AI.
AI’s use cases in the workplace are versatile and expanding rapidly. Workers are increasingly turning to AI to automate tasks and reduce busywork.
30% of employees currently use AI for data analysis, and 25% for administrative functions, but there’s demand for even more: 62% and 57% of employees, respectively, are eager to use AI for these tasks. AI even has a role to play in creative tasks—in the U.S., 45% of employees say they are keen to use AI for brainstorming, compared to 32% in the U.K.
There’s also a growing call for AI tools to be more accessible at work. 60% of employees want to democratize AI within their organizations so that it is accessible to all employees, highlighting the need for intuitive tools that cater to different use cases and technical proficiencies.
Employees are even open to AI assessing their performance at work, especially in the U.S., where 38% of employees are receptive to the idea, compared to 28% in the U.K. A notable 15% of U.S. workers would entertain the idea of AI being their boss—nearly double the percentage in the U.K.
Despite employees gravitating toward AI to enhance their work, many are concerned about how they may be viewed for doing so. 26% of workers are worried they will be viewed as lazy for using AI, and 1 in 5 workers share that they feel like a fraud for using AI—with a higher percentage of workers in the U.K. expressing such concerns.
To realise AI’s full potential, workers need clearer guidelines, more training, and accessible AI tools that enhance, not replace, the work of humans, says Asana. Concerningly, only 24% of companies provide policies or guidance on AI usage at work, and just 17% of employees say they’ve received training on how to use AI in their day-to-day work. The U.S. is notably ahead in this regard, with 23% of companies offering training, compared to 13% in the U.K.
There’s strong urgency to bridge these gaps. Almost half (48%) of employees want more guidance from their employers on how to use AI, and 39% say that the lack of AI training impacts their decisions to join a company. 59% of employees consider a company’s transparency about its use of AI as a key factor when joining a new organisation.
“We are moving into a new phase of AI’s role in our workplaces,” commented Saket Srivastava, Chief Information Officer at Asana.
“Our study shows that more employees are now embracing AI at work. Employees see the potential of AI to save time and help them focus on more strategic tasks. However, there are clear obstacles, with some employees harbouring concerns about how their AI use could be perceived by peers and managers. Employees can’t navigate this AI shift alone. They need clear guidelines to understand AI’s role in their functions, along with tailored training and accessible technologies to fully harness AI’s capabilities. Organisations that get this right will leverage AI in a way that unlocks new levels of human ingenuity,” Srivastava said.
