- New Study from BCG Reveals that Employees' Confidence in AI
and GenAI Is Growing, but Half of Regular Users Believe Their Job
May Disappear in the Next Decade
- Global Survey of More Than 13,000 Workers Highlights That
GenAI Is Saving Users at Least Five Hours per Week, Allowing Them
to Move Beyond Productivity and Do More Work and Smarter
Work
- Respondents from Global South Markets Are Consistently More
Bullish and Less Anxious About GenAI Than Their Counterparts from
the Global North
- Adoption of the Technology Has Increased Significantly over
the Past Year, Particularly with Frontline Employees, 43% of Whom
Report Using GenAI Regularly at Work
BOSTON, June 26,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The sentiments of employees
around the world about AI and GenAI are evolving significantly, but
cautious optimism endures, with 42% reporting confidence about the
technologies' impact on their work, compared to 26% at around this
time last year. However, anxiety about the technologies is also on
the rise, by 5 percentage points, and 49% of regular users believe
their job may disappear in the next ten years due to the
development of AI and GenAI, a view shared by only 24% of workers
who do not use them.
These are among the findings of a new report being published
today by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Titled AI at Work:
Friend and Foe, the study follows the firm's inaugural AI at
Work survey from last year and is based on a global survey of
more than 13,000 employees in 15 countries and regions conducted by
BCG X, BCG's tech build and design division. The survey's
respondents range from executive suite leaders to frontline
employees who do not hold managerial positions, although most
respondents work in office-based roles.
The survey was conducted at a critical phase in the maturation
of GenAI, as companies move beyond pilots and start to integrate
the technology into the fabric of their organizations. Nearly
two-thirds of leaders (64%) say they are starting to implement
GenAI tools to reshape their organizations. Engagement with the
technology has increased over the last year, particularly with
frontline employees—more than twice as many report using the tool
regularly as did in 2023, and 43% of them do so for work.
"Our survey exposes the double-edged nature of GenAI.
Familiarity correlates with both comfort and fear. GenAI is a
revolutionary technology, so these opposing reactions should not be
surprising," said Sylvain Duranton,
a managing director and senior partner at BCG and a coauthor of the
report. "By recognizing the complex ways in which humans understand
and interact with GenAI, leaders can reshape their organizations to
maximize the strengths and value of both their human and machine
workers."
Although companies have made strides in training their employees
since last year's survey, there remains quite a bit of potential
for further growth, as only 30% of managers and 28% of frontline
employees have already been trained in how AI will change their
jobs, compared with half of leaders.
The study also reveals that 58% of respondents who use GenAI for
work report that using the tool is saving them at least five hours
per week, and these respondents say they are using this freed-up
time to perform more tasks (41%) or new tasks (39%), experiment
with GenAI (38%), or work on strategic tasks (38%).
"We are entering a new era for GenAI which is less about
optimism and curiosity and more about confidence and value
realization. Adoption has increased and individuals are starting to
see the benefits, said Vinciane
Beauchene, a managing director and partner at BCG and a
coauthor of the report. "Companies are also starting to realize
that getting the value out of their investment will require them to
think beyond productivity and take a more holistic and proactive
approach to redirect the time saved to the most valuable and joyful
activities, to reskill their employees to do so, and to reshape
their organizations and operating models as a consequence."
Geographically, the survey reveals that respondents from Global
South countries such as Brazil,
India, Nigeria, South
Africa, and those in the Middle
East were more consistently bullish and less anxious than
respondents in mature markets about GenAI. The Global South also
has a higher proportion of regular users of GenAI at work among its
leaders, managers, and frontline employees than the Global North
does. Managers and frontline employees from the Global South were
more likely than their peers in the Global North to have received
GenAI training in the past year. In the time freed up by using
GenAI, Global South respondents were more likely to experiment with
the tool, engage in professional development, and focus on the
quality of their work.
The authors provide a set of five key recommendations for
organizations as they continue their ongoing transformations built
around GenAI:
- Establish a transformation-first mindset
- Manage all your transformations
- Build training muscle at scale
- Emphasize how GenAI can increase value creation and employee
joy
- Anticipate the evolution of roles, skills, operating model,
data, and governance
"Understandable human reactions to these technologies can pose
challenges to companies as they continue on their GenAI journeys,"
said Jeff Walters, a managing
director and senior partner at BCG and a coauthor of the report.
"But as we noted in last year's report—and it still holds true this
year—these are more change management challenges than technology
challenges. And now is the time for organizations to double-down on
their commitment to transformation built around GenAI."
Download the publication here:
https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/ai-at-work-friend-foe
Media Contact:
Eric
Gregoire--gregoire.eric@bcg.com
About Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group
partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most
important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG
was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963.
Today, we work closely with clients to embrace a transformational
approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholders—empowering
organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and
drive positive societal impact.
Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional
expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo
and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge
management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and
digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across
the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization,
fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them
to make the world a better place.
About BCG X
BCG X is the tech build and design unit of
BCG.
Turbocharging BCG's deep industry and functional expertise, BCG
X brings together advanced tech knowledge and ambitious
entrepreneurship to help organizations enable innovation at scale.
With nearly 3,000 technologists, scientists, programmers,
engineers, and human-centered designers located across 80+ cities,
BCG X builds and designs platforms and software to address the
world's most important challenges and opportunities. Teaming across
our practices, and in close collaboration with our clients, our
end-to-end global team unlocks new possibilities. Together we're
creating the bold and disruptive products, services, and businesses
of tomorrow.
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SOURCE Boston Consulting Group (BCG)