28% of Employees Would Use AI at Work Even if Banned
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According to a report from EisnerAmper, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly popular in the workplace. The report found that 22% of US full-time desk workers with a bachelor's degree or higher and who have used AI for work in the past 12 months report that their employer actively monitors their AI usage.
While 80% of employees report a net positive experience using AI at work, 36% indicate their company has a formal AI policy in place. Despite 84% of managers acknowledging some level of AI use among their teams, 41% of employees inform their manager or seek permission before using AI. Sixty percent of employees rely on free AI platforms rather than internally developed platforms (24%) or external AI tools paid for by the company (43%), and 28% admit they would use AI at work even if it were banned.
Employees are increasingly using AI at work, but the large majority (68%) report regularly finding errors with the technology. Despite this, confidence in AI is strong: 82% are either "very" or "somewhat" confident about accurate and satisfactory outputs from AI, while only 15% say they are "not very" or "not at all" confident.
Given this, employees report that they are saving time using AI and spending it elsewhere. The majority say they are leveraging AI to be more productive, with 64% of respondents saying they use the time saved by using AI to complete more work. However, some employees indicated they are using time saved for personal reasons, like going on a walk (19%) or to lunch (16%).
The survey reveals that 52% of employees who use AI at work are "somewhat" or "very concerned" about potential job displacement/changes due to AI. Concern is highest in sectors like wholesale trade (67%) and media and communications (62%), while employees in industries like real estate (37%) express the least worry. The highest industry adopters of AI in human resources are in wholesale trade (33%) and restaurants, travel, and lodging (25%).
While only 20% of employees surveyed say AI was used in their onboarding process, more than nine in ten (92%) of those who experienced this said having AI used in that context positively impacted their feelings toward the company. However, respondents were split on their feelings about AI involvement in the performance review process: 33% said it would have a net positive impact on their feelings toward the company, while 35% said it would have a negative impact on their feelings toward the company.
Sentiment toward AI at work varies widely by generation, with the youngest workers feeling more positive toward AI than their older counterparts. Of more than 1,000 employees surveyed, 59% of those aged 18-34 who use AI at work say they are happier as a result, compared to only 29% of respondents aged 55+. Interestingly, the majority of respondents (77%) said AI made them more productive at work, with the younger cohort (18-34) reporting the highest levels at 84%.
As AI permeates the corporate workforce, some employers are turning toward the technology to aid in performance reviews—but younger respondents are the ones who feel most comfortable with AI having an impact on the review process. For respondents aged 18-34, 45% said AI in their performance reviews would have a positive impact on their feelings toward their company, compared to only 10% of those aged 55+. Precisely half (50%) of respondents aged 55+ said using AI in performance reviews would have a negative impact on their feelings.
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