Evaluating the Role of AI in the Workplace

Shenzhen, China – September 22: The demand for Meta Platforms’ Muse AI assistant has sparked renewed interest in artificial intelligence ahead of the company’s September 23-24 Connect conference. This event aims to highlight advancements in AI, smart glasses, and virtual reality.

Understanding the economic effect of AI goes beyond counting jobs created or lost. It’s crucial to consider changes within jobs, like reduced time spent on repetitive tasks, new skill development, and career advancement opportunities. Accelerating task completion is beneficial, but enhancing job quality is more important.

A survey from the American Job Quality Study, backed by Jobs for the Future, The Families and Workers Fund, and Gallup, reveals that 63% of U.S. employees who used AI felt it helped speed up their tasks. Additionally, 46% reported producing higher-quality work, while 47% enjoyed more time on engaging job aspects.

Finishing tasks quickly opens up new opportunities. The nature of these opportunities—whether enriching or simply more work—hinges on employers’ choices. The uneven usage of AI starts with education and job roles. About 40% of college graduates use AI weekly, against 17% of non-graduates. Managers regularly use AI more than individual contributors.

However, AI usage is not the sole reason for better jobs. Educated employees and managers, typically in quality roles, also lean towards AI. AI usage is prevalent among remote workers, but merely providing chatbots won’t bridge usage gaps.

Workers lacking degrees can still benefit, as creativity and work quality improvements reported by AI users are similar across education levels. Graduates report faster work, but gains vary, suggesting AI opportunities should expand beyond tech-savvy employees.

“A wise approach should recognize workplace differences instead of forcing equal AI adoption across all jobs.”

State industries with high worker-reported AI usage since 2020 experienced significant output growth, according to a study with the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Although employment figures are less precise, they still showed positive trends.

Inside workplaces, organizations should redesign roles so both businesses and employees benefit from AI. A study involving over 30,000 employees showed those with a clear AI strategy at their organization are more likely to use it frequently. Trust in leadership correlates with reported productivity gains.

Employers must prioritize communication and trust to complement technology. Though 31% of AI users indicate an increase in responsibilities, this could lead to advancement or more work without corresponding authority or pay. Meanwhile, 52% of all employees express a desire for greater influence over technology adoption decisions.

Employers should consult workers before altering tasks, identifying areas suitable for automation, and ensuring necessary employee support. Paid learning and tool testing should be prioritized, with clear communication about permitted uses, output checks, and the impact on responsibilities.

Training should extend to frontline workers, allowing error reporting and questioning of AI proposals without fear of being labeled anti-innovation. While AI offers time savings, transforming this into job enhancements requires thoughtful decisions about employees’ next steps, learning opportunities, and reward systems.

Ultimately, AI adoption should remain a human-driven process, with careful planning and collaboration between employers and employees.

Christos A. Makridis is an associate research professor at Arizona State University and a senior researcher at Gallup.