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2024 - The Year When AI Gets Real at Work
2024 - The Year When AI Gets Real at Work

July 4, 2024

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AI today is the talk of the town but are organisations and employees really reaping any benefits? With this question in mind I started reading the latest 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report from Microsoft and LinkedIn titled “AI at Work Is Here. Now Comes the Hard Part” released in May 2024.

The Organisation side of the story

And think the report does justice to the title highlighting the challenges for business which are  moving past experimentation to business transformation when it comes to AI. However, when the pressure is on showing ROI, a lot of ground needs to be covered. That said there is no shying away from the fact that organizations that apply AI to drive growth, manage costs, and deliver greater value to customers will pull ahead.

Labor Market Impact

I will not discuss the issue which is doing rounds that AI will make people loose jobs. But rather the more important side of the story that it will shift the labor market yet again. How? Leaders report a talent shortage for key AI roles and highlight that AI aptitude could rival experience when it comes to hiring and moving up the ladder.

The Supporting Survey Insights

Now let’s take a look at the top 10 messages coming from a survey that takes a sample of 31,000 people across 31 countries, identifies labor and hiring trends from LinkedIn, and also analyses trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals and research with Fortune 500 customers.

  1. Employees want AI at work—and they won’t wait for companies to catch up. The report also highlights, employees today struggling under the pace and volume of work, are bringing their own AI to work.
  • Use of generative AI has nearly doubled in the last six months, with 75% of global knowledge workers using it. 
  • 46% of users started using it less than six months ago
  • Users say AI helps them save time (90%), focus on their most important work (85%), be more creative (84%), and enjoy their work more (83%).
  • The heaviest Teams users (the top 5%) summarized 8 hours of meetings using Copilot in the month of March, the equivalent of an entire workday.
  • 78% of AI users are bringing their own AI tools to work (BYOAI)—it’s even more common at small and medium-sized companies (80%). Interestingly it’s not just Gen Z—BYOAI cuts across all generations. 

Source: 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report from Microsoft and LinkedIn “AI at Work Is Here. Now Comes the Hard Part

  1. However employees are reluctant to admit that they use AI
  • 52% of people who use AI at work are reluctant to admit to using it for their most important tasks.
  • 53% of people who use AI at work worry that using it on important work tasks makes them look replaceable.

 

  1. Leaders agree AI is a business imperative, however,
  • Many believe their organization lacks a plan and vision to go from individual impact to applying AI to drive the bottom line.
    • 60% of leaders worry their organization’s leadership lacks a plan and vision to implement AI.
  • The pressure to show immediate ROI is making leaders inert, even in the face of AI inevitability.
    • 79% of leaders agree their company needs to adopt AI to stay competitive, but 59% worry about quantifying the productivity gains of AI.

 

  1. Talent Shortage Persists, with the Leaders Showing a Shift in Hiring Focus

A graph of a job loss

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Source: 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report from Microsoft and LinkedIn “AI at Work Is Here. Now Comes the Hard Part

  • Technical AI talent hiring is up 323% in the past eight years.
  • Now leaders are focusing on non-technical talent with AI aptitude—the skills to use generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot
  • 66% of leaders say they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills.
  • 71% say they’d rather hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills than a more experienced candidate without them.
  • And junior candidates may have a new edge: 77% of leaders say, with AI, early-in-career talent will be given greater responsibilities. 
  1. However, They Lack Training Their Own People
  • 45% of US executives are not currently investing in AI tools or products for employees.
  • Only 39% of people globally who use AI at work have gotten AI training from their company.
  • Only 25% of companies are planning to offer training on generative AI this year, further cementing this training deficit.

 

  1. But Employees are Training Themselves
  • 76% employees say they need AI skills to remain competitive in the job market.   
  • 69% of people say AI can help get them promoted faster, and even more (79%) say AI skills will broaden their job opportunities.
  • In the past six months, the use of LinkedIn Learning courses designed to build AI aptitude has spiked 160% among non-technical professionals, with roles like project managers, architects, and administrative assistants looking to skill up most.
  1. New AI roles are Emerging
  • 12% of recruiters say they are already creating new roles tied specifically to the use of generative AI.
  • Head of AI is emerging as a new must-have leadership role—a job that tripled over the past five years and grew by more than 28% in 2023.

 

  1. New AI roles are Emerging
  • 12% of recruiters say they are already creating new roles tied specifically to the use of generative AI.
  • Head of AI is emerging as a new must-have leadership role—a job that tripled over the past five years and grew by more than 28% in 2023.

 

  1. AI Power Users are Emerging

The study identifies AI users under four categories –

  • Skeptics are at least familiar with AI, but they only use it a few times a month (if ever). They say AI saves them 10 minutes or less per day.
  • Novices are only somewhat familiar with AI (if at all) and use it only a few times a month (if ever). They say AI saves them 30 minutes or less per day.
  • Explorers are only somewhat familiar with AI (if at all) and use it a few times a month or once a week. They say AI saves them between 5 and 30 minutes per day.
  • Power Users are at least familiar with AI and use it at least several times per week. They say it saves them more than 30 minutes per day.

 

A screenshot of a computer

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Source: 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report from Microsoft and LinkedIn “AI at Work Is Here. Now Comes the Hard Part

 

                 Power users are empowered by a different kind of organization. At their companies:

  • Senior leaders lean in: AI power users are 61% more likely to hear from their CEO about the importance of using generative AI at work
  • Company culture is change-ready: AI power users are 53% more likely to receive encouragement from leadership to consider how AI can transform their function and 18% more likely to say their company encourages innovation.
  • They get tailored training: AI power users are 37% more likely to say their company has a virtual learning program. They’re also more likely to have received training on prompt writing (+37%), how to use AI for their role or function (+35%), or specific use cases such as writing or analyzing data (+32%).

 

  1. Way Forward for Organisations:
  • Identify a business problem, then apply AI - There are efficiency gains to be had across every function—the key is to pick a process and apply AI
  • Take a top-down as well as bottom-up approach - Going from experimentation to transformation requires engagement at every level of the organization, from the CEO to the entry-level employee.
  • Prioritize training - AI power users aren’t doing it on their own—they receive ongoing training, both on universal tasks and uses more tailored to their role and function.

Overall, AI is the way forward and we need to train more and more to make it a success both for the organization and the employees.

 


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Neha Jain
Senior Analyst

Neha Jain

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