AI is set to shape the workplace of almost everyone on earth, with a particularly profound impact on knowledge workers.
The pace and bottom-up nature of this change are naturally causing some concern. But the real story of workplace AI is more complex than simple narratives of AI doom or utopia. For example, HP’s AI in the Workplace Report found that 45 per cent of Gen Z knowledge workers are concerned they will lose their job to a bot. But despite these worries, there is also hope, with HP finding that 55 per cent of knowledge workers believe that AI will unlock new opportunities for them to enjoy work. According to the same research, just 27 per cent of knowledge workers report having a healthy relationship with work today, so a change to the status quo is necessary.
The complexity of the topic is reflected in the range of issues raised by key stakeholders. On the one hand, AI is clearly causing additional stress for some workers. But, more optimistically, it could improve accessibility for under-represented groups. And proponents of the four-day working week are also investing many of their hopes in the technology’s potential.
Worker wellbeing
Regardless of the realities of workplace AI, there is evidence that the anticipation of its arrival is having an impact on workers. For example, the American Psychological Association’s 2023 Work in America Survey found that 38 per cent of workers report worrying about AI taking their job. And this ‘AI anxiety’ correlates with several negative workplace experiences. For example, 51 per cent of those worried about AI reported that their work has a negative impact on their mental health compared with just 29 per cent for those who were not worried.
Remote work
The normalisation of remote working has been a key trend post-pandemic. But AI could interrupt this dynamic and place a premium on workers skilled at human-to-human interaction. For example, in a draft paper, two academics from the University of Oxford, Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne, argue that remote jobs are more likely to be automated. More transactional tasks that can be performed virtually, they argue, are more amenable to automation as the risks of reputational damage from hallucination are lower. In-person interaction, meanwhile, will remain important for building trust and long-term customer relationships.
Reskilling for AI
Reskilling workers more broadly is an increasingly urgent task. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), industry transformation, including AI use, will cause 23 per cent of jobs to change in the next five years. And the WEF is helping to facilitate the necessary shifts through its Reskilling Revolution initiative. Engaging 17 governments and over 370 companies, this project aims to leverage public-private partnerships to provide 1 billion people with better education, opportunities, and skills by 2030. In January, WEF managing director Saadia Zahidi explained that “investing in human capital initiatives like the Reskilling Revolution today is fundamental to getting ahead of disruptions to livelihoods.”
Workplace accessibility
One of the positive potential impacts of AI on the workplace is the opportunities it provides to boost accessibility. And one organisation highlighting these is AbilityNet, a UK charity that aims to ensure that digital technology is accessible to everyone. Its thought leadership highlights how tools like AI-powered captions, transcripts, and voice assistance can help those with physical disabilities, deafness, and visual impairment.
Meanwhile, tools that improve the readability of written content and assess tone could be beneficial to neurodiverse employees. In a webinar, AbilityNet’s Head of Digital Inclusion, Robin Christopherson, further highlighted that publicly available large language models “may be able to help people with ADHD gather their thoughts with mindmaps, break down tasks into more manageable chunks, better plan their tasks, and summarise lengthy documents.”
Four-day work week
In recent years, the four-day-week movement has made a significant contribution to the conversation around the future of work. 4 Day Week Global has organised pilot programmes globally, from the US to New Zealand. And, in partnership with 4 Day Week Campaign and Autonomy, it ran a six-month trial in the UK in 2022 – with positive results.
AI is seen by many in the movement as a facilitator of shorter working hours. For example, Autonomy published a report in November, which found that 88 per cent of the British labour force, some 27.9 million workers, could have at least a 10 per cent reduction in work time due to AI-led productivity gains – without reductions in livelihoods or overall productivity. A US-focused report by Tech.co, meanwhile, found that 90 per cent of businesses with AI experience are open to introducing a four-day workweek.
There remains much uncertainty around how AI will impact the workplace. But various stakeholders are adding their voice to the conversation, providing a range of viewpoints.