Burnout is pushing workers to use AI—even if their boss doesn’t know
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This week, WIRED Start looks into the new data that shows a rise in people using AI in the workplace.?
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 trend index published last 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.
The new report is built on a survey of 31,000 people who work desk jobs across 31 countries, labor and hiring trends found in LinkedIn data, data from Microsoft 365, and research from Fortune 500 companies. It’s a look at how generative AI has affected the workplace since tools like ChatGPT became available in late 2022. While the rapid adoption of AI struck fears that it would replace jobs, the report paints a different picture: of overburdened workers seeking their own solutions, and of managers eager to hire people who have skills utilizing AI—even as companies themselves are lagging in training workers how to use it.
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Interesting point of view. That′s why technology is such a powerful tool that can turn into a keystone help for every business. We need to learn to use it in a work-life balance healthy way.
I wonder if this is such a good idea. If an employee is experiencing burnout because they're doing the work that should be done by more than one person, and they're using AI to help them get their tasks done, then that's a signal to the employer that they can get around hiring more people by relying on AI.
Looking forward to seeing further studies done on this phenomenon. In tackling burnout, I hope there's deep dives into what type of work is being done. AI is a fascinating tool with a lot of real uses, but is most effective at fairly menial tasks. Could its usage actually highlight redundancies and a disproportionate demand for effort spent in the wrong places? The reinforced sense that your work has little impact or doesn't leverage your human skillset can exacerbate the burn-out that's motivating subversive AI adoption in the first place. We talk a lot about the anxiety of being replaced by the machine, but there's definitely something to be investigated in the sense of value.
Senior Education Partner @ Waldorf University | Masters of Science in Emergency Service Management
10 个月How long before people start only working for employers that embrace AI? If you look at AI as a tool like a typewriter, people will not want to be printing out books by pen when a machine that allows them to do it quicker and better is being used in other businesses.
Great dad | Inspired Risk Management and Security | Cybersecurity | AI Governance & Security | Data Science & Analytics My posts and comments are my personal views and perspectives but not those of my employer
10 个月WIRED I will argue that people are interested in learning AI for reskilling or being more productive. Not as an escape from the workload