White-collar workers are so overwhelmed with emails, web chats, and meetings that they are using AI tools to get their jobs done—even if their companies haven’t trained them to do so, according to a work trends index published Wednesday by Microsoft and LinkedIn.
Seventy-five percent of people in desk jobs are already using AI at work, and the amount of people using AI has nearly doubled over the past six months, the report found. The vast majority of workers using AI—regardless of whether they are baby boomers or Gen Z—are “bringing their own AI tools” rather than waiting for their companies to guide them.
“People are overwhelmed with digital debt and under duress at work,” Colette Stallbaumer, general manager of Microsoft’s chatbot Copilot and cofounder of Workload, said in a video announcing the report’s results. “And they are turning to AI for relief.” Microsoft (which also owns LinkedIn) stands to win from the adoption of AI, and is already cashing in on its generative AI tools.
The new report is based on a survey of 31,000 individuals from 31 different countries who are engaged in desk jobs. The report also references data from Microsoft 365, LinkedIn, and Fortune 500 company research to look into the impact of generative AI on the workplace since the introduction of tools such as ChatGPT in late 2022. Despite initial fears that AI would replace jobs, the report paints a different picture showing workers looking for their solutions and managers ready to recruit individuals with AI capabilities, even though the companies themselves are behind in training employees in its use.
The report paints a grim picture of worker burnout. Nearly 70 percent of the surveyed individuals admitted to struggling with work pace and volume, with nearly half experiencing burnout. Users of Microsoft 365 spend the most part of their workday communicating within their company, leaving little time to use Word and PowerPoint, a problem that some AI tools aim to alleviate. The study also found that 46 percent of the employees are considering quitting their jobs this year. On the flip side, they may need AI skills to secure employment elsewhere.
“It’s a much sought-after skill set,” observes Julie Schweber, a senior HR knowledge advisor at the Society for Human Resource Management, who mentions that hiring managers are particularly interested in job seekers with experience and skills in AI. “The advent of AI in the workplace is inevitable. It will impact everything at the workplace.”
While the report highlights a steady increase in AI usage among office workers, its widespread adoption could be slow. A Pew research survey conducted earlier this year revealed that only 20 percent of US adults have used ChatGPT for work, although this figure rose from 12 percent in mid-2023.
Alongside the report, Microsoft also announced advances to its Copilot tool, including an autocomplete function that is meant to help people prompt the chatbot to receive better output. It also has a rewrite feature that will add context to simple prompts, and a “catch up” chat interface, which sends personalized reminders, like a notification of an upcoming meeting along with information people can use to prepare.
Matt Simon
Kate O’Flaherty
Joel Khalili
Written By: Boone Ashworth
LinkedIn and Microsoft have conducted an examination into how companies are introducing AI training and the expectations this trend carries for employees. Notably, the report shows that unsurprisingly, most business leaders would opt not to hire an individual lacking AI-related skills. However, fewer than 40 percent of workers currently utilizing AI in their duties have had formal training in it, highlighting a potentially prevalent knowledge gap unless employees begin learning new skills on their own. The roles enjoying the fastest rate of addition of AI skills on LinkedIn profiles include content writers, marketing managers, and graphic designers among others.
This gap is further emphasized by the different levels of AI adoption among various companies. The report goes on to show that a majority of “power users,” or those who use AI multiple times a week in their jobs, use the technology to manage a heavy workload, saving on average about 30 minutes each day. They are however more likely to have received motivation from leadership to consider how to incorporate AI into their work routine.
It is crucial to note that employing AI in the workplace does come with its share of risks. Instances of these tools exhibiting bias and creating their own set of facts and explanations have occurred. Additionally, there’s a risk of workers misrepresenting AI-generated work as their own, potentially leading to plagiarism and copyright infringement issues. Recently, the US government announced new AI usage guidelines for federal workers and agencies to curb these concerns. It’s apparent that for several employers, leveraging AI technology still requires navigating a learning curve.
“Organizations are still trying to figure out: How does AI fit into the day-to-day of what we do?” says Leanne Getz, vice president of delivery channels at IT staffing firm Experis. “We are cautious because of that accuracy and that traceability piece that’s still somewhat unknown.”
