Press Release – Hiring Hero
New Zealand workers are increasingly upskilling and relying on AI in the workplace, but new research reveals many are hiding how much they’re using it.
Employment Hero’s AI Paradox at Work report shows New Zealand employees are steadily incorporating AI into their daily work. More than half (51%) of Kiwi workers have taught themselves AI skills through platforms like YouTube and TikTok, and 57% say AI is helping them develop more valuable skills.
However, despite these benefits, 38% said using AI to complete some part of their job felt like “cheating,” and more than a third (37%) of employees felt guilty about using AI to produce high-quality work, the lowest of any market surveyed.
Other key findings include:
- 42% believe frequent use of AI means they no longer need it
- Just under a third (32%) present AI-generated work as their own
- 28% use AI tools without their company’s knowledge
New Zealand workers and local businesses were surveyed as part of a global research program exploring how AI is shaping employee and employer expectations, daily work life and the evolution of employment.
New Zealand Employment Hero general manager Neil Webster says employers can combat AI guilt and retain AI-savvy employees by creating a positive environment for technology adoption.
“Many companies are still considering what AI in the workplace should look like, which is not surprising, as AI is rapidly evolving and there is no one-size-fits-all approach.
“However, we are seeing employers provide clear guidance and practical support to their teams, and celebrate the productivity gains enabled by AI. This will enable people to be more confident in leveraging AI in ways that benefit both the business and their own professional development.” Dr Guy Bate, Artificial Intelligence Theme Leader at the University of Auckland, says AI is less important than trust in what a “good” use of AI looks like. states that there is a paradox that the adoption of may be increasing rapidly.
“Employees feel anxious despite the increased speed, while employers feel they are becoming more efficient without comparable innovations. The solution to this is not necessarily increased adoption, but rather steering AI beyond routine automation to jobs that truly enhance human judgment and strategic capabilities,” says Dr. Bate.
“It is important to remember that AI is more than just an individual’s AI proficiency or just AI. AI is the ability to combine human judgment with AI in ways that improve the quality of work and decision-making while retaining human responsibility.”
Job creation, not job loss
This study challenges the assumption that AI and job creation are mutually exclusive. Almost one in five New Zealand business leaders (18%) say AI will create new roles, and a further 50% say existing roles will be refocused, meaning around two-thirds expect some positive or innovative workforce change rather than outright retrenchment.
Job creation sentiment outweighs job loss sentiment by more than 2 to 1, with only 19% of companies expecting their workforce to remain the same in 12 months.
Additionally, companies with advanced AI integration are nearly twice as likely to describe themselves as “thriving,” confirming that AI maturity is trending toward growth rather than contraction.
New Zealand’s AI Adoption Gap’s Mr Webster said the findings should give New Zealand businesses the confidence to approach AI, rather than shy away from it.
But despite the appetite for AI among individual workers, he says the research highlights New Zealand’s relatively low business AI adoption rate compared to the UK, Australia and Canada.
Almost a third (34%) of Kiwi employers believe AI is helping drive more innovation in their business, compared to around half in the UK (55%) and Australia (45%). Just 15% of New Zealand businesses say AI is core to their business operations, compared to almost a quarter (24%) in the UK.
“Global data shows that companies that invest in AI are significantly more likely to succeed,” Webster says. “In New Zealand, businesses and their teams can close this gap by boldly driving change, rather than just reacting to AI advances.
“Kiwi businesses are on par with Australia and other countries when it comes to how AI supports productivity. But we lag behind when it comes to using AI to improve the quality of work, drive cost savings and support employee confidence.”
Just over a third (35%) of New Zealand employers say AI is helping them reduce costs, compared to 43% in Australia. More than a third (36%) of UK businesses agree that AI supports a better work-life balance, compared to 27% in New Zealand.
People who get the most value are the least confident
Research on the paradox of AI in the workplace also shows that the workers most skilled in AI are often the most conflicted about its use.
“Workers with the most AI capabilities are the most conflicted. They know what AI can do for them, but they are anxious about how AI will impact their roles and lives,” Webster says.
Kiwi AI professionals are more likely than the average basic AI worker to say AI is helping them develop more valuable skills (64% vs. 50%) and reduce administrative tasks (74% vs. 53%). But they are also more likely to feel substitutable. 41% of highly AI-powered workers feel they are more likely to be fired because of technology, and 29% say the use of AI in the workplace makes their job less secure.
Webster says the answer is not for workers and companies to back away from AI, but for them to be more open about how AI is already being used.
“The greatest value of AI is that it enhances human capabilities by enabling things that were previously too difficult or expensive. Rather than replacing humans, AI takes over repetitive tasks in critical areas, allowing companies and their employees to focus on higher-value, human-centered work.”
“AI is here to stay. Instead of feeling guilty about using it, people need to feel confident using it and workplaces need to shift their mindset to an AI-first approach,” he says.
Note:
The AI Paradox at Work report is Employment Hero’s most comprehensive global study to date, capturing the perspectives of both employers and employees across Australia and internationally, providing a unique perspective on how AI is reshaping the world of work. All data comes from research commissioned by Employment Hero from Focaldata. The sample was 256 business leaders/owners and 820 employees of New Zealand companies (5–1500 employees), n=1,076. Fieldwork was conducted from April 25th to May 7th, 2026.
Employment Hero has documented its own AI-first transition as a practical how-to for other companies following the same adoption curve. Since making AI-first a company value in 2025, developers are coding at roughly four times the rate they were before, and AI adoption among customer experience teams has increased from about 15 percent to more than 70 percent. This approach was centered around a six-week company-wide rollout, leadership being the first to publicly use AI tools, and policies built to give staff permission to use AI openly rather than restricting it.
About employment heroes
Employment Hero is the world’s leading authority on employment, offering the world’s leading employment operating system (eOS) that simplifies and optimizes every step of the hiring process. The company’s award-winning platform combines human resources, payroll, recruiting, and employee engagement tools with EH Work, a breakthrough employment super app that unifies career management and financial health. Serving over 350,000 companies worldwide and managing over 2.5 million employees, Employment Hero reduces administrative burden by up to 80%, enabling organizations to focus on their goals and build more productive, engaged teams. Employment Heroes is revolutionizing the job market, making hiring easier, more valuable and rewarding for everyone.
Content sourced from scoop.co.nz
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