More than half of people have “no idea” how their employer is using AI, an UKG report published Tuesday indicated.
UKG polled more than 4,000 workers in 10 countries, at all levels of the business. The data also underscored a disconnect between how execs believe AI is being used at their companies and how employees are actually using it.
Lack of AI clarity is a buy-in hurdle
The majority of C-suite execs said their company is using AI today, with a little more than half noting their employees are using AI to automate or augment productivity. Meanwhile, only 42% of employees said they’re using AI in their day-to-day work.
More than the push toward innovation or a new tech gold rush, conversations about employer approaches to AI are matters of workplace culture, L&D and trust in management.
Moreover, researchers found that 3 out of 4 employees would feel more excited about or accepting of AI if their employer was more transparent about the ways their organization is using AI and the ways it could improve workflow.
Why AI confusion is worth eliminating
The UKG report underscored the ways more AI transparency could improve workplace culture. Of the people polled:
- 48% said they would trust leadership more
- 49% said they would want to stay on with their employer longer
- 54% said they would be happier
- 56% said they would go above and beyond at their job
- 63% said it would increase job engagement and satisfaction
“AI is here, and it’s already providing some amazing benefits for the workforce — from automating tedious tasks to answering common questions to helping crunch millions of data points in mere seconds,” said Dan Schwabel, managing partner at Workplace Intelligence, the firm that partnered with UKG for the study.
Noting that lack of transparency remained a problem, Schwabel added, “Organizations must be more upfront about how they’re using AI in the workplace if they want a competitive advantage and want to earn, and keep, the trust of their employees.”