This is an excerpt from Morning Consult's 2024 State of the Worker Report. Want to learn more about where employed adults work, their work preferences, and how engaged they are? Download the full report here.
If you've been on LinkedIn in the past 18 months, you've probably read our thought leadership about how integrating artificial intelligence into the workforce can help create huge opportunities for companies. .
Despite employers' enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, the number of mentions of “AI” on earnings calls increased dramatically in the fourth quarter, the average U.S. adult still doesn't believe in the broader impact this technology will have on their job. Most people have mixed ideas about the impact. But that doesn't mean they don't incorporate it into their roles. Many workers are using AI in their jobs, and that exposure appears to be shaking their perceptions of the technology.
Millennials and people with graduate degrees are more likely to think AI will have a positive impact on the workplace.
Just over two in five employed Americans (44%) say they use AI in their jobs, with even higher percentages among millennials and those with graduate degrees (both 56%) I did. Research shows that exposure to AI in the workplace is directly proportional to the level of education of the worker, and our own past research shows that Millennials are increasingly interested in all types of AI, not just those used in society. have been shown to be more likely to show high interest in types of AI applications. workplace.
Reflecting these trends, millennials and those with graduate degrees are also most likely to say that industries that invest in the use of AI in the workplace will have more positive than negative impacts.
Gen Z, a generation that typically stands in contrast to other generations, has slightly more mixed feelings. This is likely because they currently make up a lower proportion of the workforce and therefore have less exposure to AI on the job. They are also slightly more likely than other generations to say that AI will not impact their jobs (23%).
Workers using AI are incorporating AI into many aspects of their work
When we asked employees who use AI how they use AI in their work, the majority of respondents said they often or sometimes use all of the options tested. We can see that the use of AI is not limited to certain very specific tasks.
Some of the most common uses include composing emails, generating ideas, and analyzing data. Although answering customer/client questions ranks higher in AI use cases for Gen Z, this cohort (new employees) generally ranks slightly lower on metrics for using AI applications in the workplace. . (Gen Z is equally likely to say he uses AI for fun.) Millennials, on the other hand, are more likely than the average worker to say they use all tested applications. likely to answer. This may be because Millennials are more likely to simply use AI to report for business or pleasure.
The variety of tasks in which workers are currently using AI shows that this technology can be broadly applied to the workforce, not just highly technical jobs. Companies should note that positive sentiment and use of AI does not mean Americans are completely bullish on the technology. Consumers are least interested in applications that can be used to completely replace humans. That said, employers investing more in AI technology need to think big when deploying that technology. We expect many use cases and a wide range of workers to be open to incorporating AI into their existing workflows.
This is an excerpt from Morning Consult's 2024 State of the Worker Report. Want to learn more about where employed adults work, their work preferences, and how engaged they are? Download the full report here.
