- Almost half of Gen Z believes their bosses do not understand the benefits of AR workplace
- Employees across generations agree that AI should help with tasks not act as a human replacement
- AI is expected to save Gen Z staff almost 90 minutes per day. Working day
A growing gap occurs in the workplace over AI’s role, and Gen Z is increasingly contrary to their leaders.
New data from a UKG and Harris Poll Survey reveals that 49% of Gen Z employees believe their bosses simply do not understand the real benefits of artificial intelligence.
The results reveal a potential interruption between younger employees who often learn themselves how to use AI tools, and older leaders who may be hesitant or uncertain about adopting new technologies in scale.
AI should support, not replace
Cross -generations employees want AI to help with their work but not replace it, with 89% of all workers surveyed who say AI should be seen as a tool, not an employee.
“Every couple of decades, breakthrough technology is fundamentally changing the way we do everything … AI is quickly becoming ubiquitous and indispensable to work – and ignoring it now is like choosing not to use a computer or the internet,” said Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at UKG.
Most employees (84%) also believe that AI should be used to automate tasks, not performing the entire role.
This view is consistently held across organizations of all sizes, from startups to global companies.
Despite this consensus, the excitement of how fast adoption should move and who is driving it.
Younger workers appear to be the most proactive, and 70% of Gen Z staff say they have taught themselves most of the AI tools they use, compared to only 40% of boomers.
90% of Gen Z believes AI will save them time, with almost a third that expects to recover up to 89 minutes a day.
Tasks such as summary of corporate policies, building plans, verification of wages and management of time-off requests are among the functions they are most eager to hand over to machines.
However, tasks involving empathy, discretionary or complex assessment are seen as appropriate for automation.
Simply put, AI has to take the repeated and boring part of the job so that people can focus on the meaningful.
“Gen Z may be at the forefront of AI adoption in the workplace, but this technology has the power to transform work for every generation,” he continued.
“From simplification and automation of everyday tasks to increasing the productivity to lock more time to creativity, innovation and personal connection, AI will reshape the employee experience in the coming years. The sooner organizations act according to AI’s potential, the greater competitive advantage they get.”
