According to a recent study from Slack's Fall 2024 Workforce Index, "AI Hype Is Cooling." The adoption rate for AI has stalled out in the U.S.; from March 2024, 32% of desk workers had tried AI; that grew by one percentage point over five months to August 2024.
If you're a vendor that was counting on AI products to boost your bottom line, the cooldown after two years of unalloyed enthusiasm might be a problem. If you're a workforce strategist, however, it bears looking at why people are pumping the brakes on AI.
The biggest reason cited in the report all tie to one common and understandable fear: AI is going to take my job. As the report states:
Nearly half (48%) of all desk workers would be uncomfortable admitting to their manager that they used AI for common workplace tasks. The top reasons for workers’ discomfort are 1) feeling like using AI is cheating 2) fear of being seen as less competent and 3) fear of being seen as lazy.
A second, related fear is also emerging: AI is going to change my job into something I don't like. Again, per the report:
The data shows a gulf between what desk workers wish AI would allow them to focus on and the ultimate effect they predict it will have on their work lives: Employees most want AI to allow them to refocus their time on meaningful activities, but they suspect that AI could lead to more busy work and increased workload.
Employees are right to be suspicious. When they were asked, “If AI saved you several hours of time a week at work, how would you wish to prioritize that time in an ideal world?” the leading activity was "non-work activities." When their bosses were asked what they'd have their employees do with that freed-up time, the top answer was "do more work on existing core projects."
The bosses should pay attention to their employees' answers. As the BBC recently reported:
In freelancer platform Upwork’s survey of 2,500 knowledge workers in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, 96% of top executives say they expect the use of AI tools to increase their company’s overall productivity levels - with 81% acknowledging they’ve increased demands on workers over the past year.
Yet 77% of employees in the survey say AI tools have actually decreased their productivity and added to their workload. And 47% of employees using AI in the survey say they have no idea how to achieve the productivity gains their employers expect.
As a result, 61% of people believe that using AI at work will increase their chances of experiencing burnout - rising to 87% of people under 25, as revealed in a separate survey of 1,150 Americans, by CV writing company Resume Now.
Improved worker productivity is already boosting the risks for employee burnout, according to recent research by Robert Half. So is it any wonder that employees are viewing AI tools not as the technology that will help them manage their workloads, but as the technology that will toss still more tasks on the to-do list -- all while eroding their boss's opinions of them.
The slowdown in AI adoption is a warning sign about overall employee experiences. The real question is not "How do we get everyone on board with AI in the workplace?" It's "How do we make a workplace where AI won't be seen as a threat?"
