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Woman wearing augmented reality glasses at night
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aAI has a gender problem, and not just because of the bias in the images and models it produces.
there is Gender gap in AI use and adoptionThat percentage is surprisingly highest among younger workers, according to a new survey from Slack. The Salesforce-owned workplace messaging tool released a new report on Monday that included the results of a survey of more than 10,000 “desk workers,” and found that: Gen Z men are 25% more likely to have tried AI tools The survey found that men are more likely than women to be experimenting with AI overall, with 35% of male respondents saying they have tried AI at work, compared to 29% of female respondents.
“This is something we need to watch,” says Christina Janzer, director of Slack's Workforce Institute. “My hypothesis is that the people who use Slack today are the people who will help shape its future. We want those people to be representative of the population, but that's not the case today. This is a huge opportunity for leaders to understand that and get back on track.”
On the other hand, the report states: Workers of color use AI more than white workersForty-three percent of Hispanic respondents, 42% of Black respondents, and 36% of Asian American respondents said they have tried AI tools at work, compared to 29% of white respondents. The full survey, available here, also explores the benefits of AI training and how AI is helping with the “job tasks” that Janzer calls AI could potentially replace.
The Slack report is not the first study to identify differences between men, women, and AI. A study by Cognizant and Oxford Economics found that 41% of women believe that Generation AI will hinder professional mobilityThe report also highlighted that occupations traditionally held by women, such as office clerks, customer service workers and marketing managers, are most at risk from AI.
How can HR leaders help close the AI adoption gap between male and female employees? What policies are needed to address the impact of AI on women's careers? We'd love to hear about these findings and what we can do about them.
artificial intelligence
Accounting giant PwC (aka PricewaterhouseCoopers) announced that its UK and US branches have signed a deal with OpenAI to become the first reseller of the company's business chatbot, ChatGPT Enterprise. The significant announcement means the firm will become the largest user of the tech company's business software as it races to harness increasingly sophisticated generative artificial intelligence. This is just one of many headlines that buzzy AI company OpenAI and its founders are generating on a weekly basis, including Sam Altman pledging to donate most of his fortune through the Giving Pledge and former executive Jan Reike stepping down from his post to rival firm Anthropic over safety concerns.
Happiness + Belonging
Recent The Wall Street Journal The article examines the loneliness plight of American workers and how changes in the workplace over the past four years have contributed to what the US Surgeon General has called an “epidemic” of loneliness. But many people on social media, and some Forbes The authors cautioned that mandating people to work from the office won't solve the problem. Contributor Lisa Kohn argued that while the modern workplace may be a problem, the data doesn't suggest that the location of the workplace is truly the cause of the problem. Meanwhile, contributor Talia Varley said that hybrid work environments “may exacerbate loneliness,” but pointed to solutions such as manager training, employee exercise subsidies, employee recognition, and stronger employee resource groups.
Human capital
As college tuition costs skyrocket, more companies adopt a skills-based approach to hiring, and drop some college degree requirements, most Americans are saying a degree isn't worth taking on student loans. According to a new Pew Research Center survey, only 22% of 5,200 survey respondents said the cost of college would be worth it if students had to take on loans, while 47% said it would only be worth it if students didn't have to take on loans. Meanwhile, 29% of respondents said college just isn't worth the cost anyway. ForbesEmma Whitford.
Forbes released its list of the best employers for new US graduates, with Delta Airlines taking the top spot. Survey respondents most highly praised Delta's reputation and DEI practices, followed by In-N-Out Burger and American Express in the top three. For more information on this year's rankings, check out the list here. Need to inspire your peer group? Here's the best career advice Gen Z recruits may have heard (or missed) at graduation this year.
What's next: Whole Foods Market co-founder John Mackey
Whole Foods Market co-CEO John Mackey speaks onstage at “Conscious Capitalism: Unleashing the Heroic Spirit of Business” during the 2013 SXSW Music, Film + Interactive Festival at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas on March 10, 2013. (Photo by Dustin Finkelstein/Getty Images for SXSW)
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When we think about the future of work, we often focus on how up-and-coming managers think about new workplace dynamics and the technologies that will transform the way we get work done. But executives nearing the end of their careers often have something to say about building company culture and how they see the changes that will shape the future of work.
I recently spoke with Whole Foods Market co-founder John Mackey about his memoir. The whole storyshares the founder's often colorful recollections about building a grocery chain, being acquired by Amazon, and experimenting with at least two recreational drugs throughout his life. (He's not out of the entrepreneurial game: His latest startup, Love.life, is a “holistic health and wellness company” that includes a Miami restaurant, an online diabetes coaching company, a telehealth program, and a flagship store opening in the Los Angeles area this summer.)
In a Q&A published last week, Mackey discussed his views on unions (“I'm not anti-union,” but “I just don't want my team members to feel like they need a union”), his discussions with Amazon about remote work early in the pandemic (“We had a privileged corporate person who didn't have to come in”), and his struggles with the cultural differences between the two companies (“That's not my problem anymore,” he joked, while praising Amazon for not trying to change Whole Foods' culture). As always, we couldn't fit everything into the version published last week, so we'll share a few additional outtakes from the conversation.
- About the trade union: McKee told me he is not “anti-union,” but added, “Ideally, if we do our jobs right, [employees] “They won't feel the need to rely on unions,” he said. He also said he's interested in the concept of enterprise unions, also known as “enterprise unions,” which are more common in Japan and are organized within one factory or company rather than across an entire industry. In such an arrangement, he believes, “they're working together, it's not us versus them, it's adversarial.”
- About DEI: During a discussion of CEOs speaking out on social issues, the topic of race in the workplace came up. McKee seemed opposed to hiring and promotions designed to achieve specific goals. “I'm a big believer in meritocracy,” he said. “I really think companies should live up to that. Companies shouldn't discriminate on any basis other than determining who is right for the job based on qualifications, ability and merit.”
- About Amazon founder Jeff Bezos: Mackey pointed to Bezos' 2020 letter to shareholders in which he said Amazon would be the best employer in the world. Mackey wrote the letter to Bezos, current CEO Andy Jassy and former executive Dave Clark, but declined to provide details. In the letter, Mackey offered “a dozen or so suggestions for what they could do” to achieve that goal, adding them to the company's well-known leadership principles that help run the company. “I was proud that Jeff responded to my email and said, 'These ideas are good,' including that Bezos add them to the principles,” Mackey said. “He reached out, he listened, and he acted.”
Facts + Comments
A U.S. bankruptcy judge approved WeWork's Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan on May 30, signing a restructuring agreement that will allow the shared office-space company to emerge from bankruptcy with zero debt “in a matter of days,” according to Reuters. Two days earlier, WeWork founder Adam Neumann had said a replacement bid would end his attempts to buy the co-working company.
$4 billion: The approved plan reduced the amount of pre-bankruptcy debt, allowing them to emerge debt-free.
45 million: Total square footage of WeWork’s space portfolio
“For months, we have been working constructively with WeWork to craft a strategy that will enable the company to thrive,” Neumann said in a statement. The New York TimesFrom the DealBook Newsletter: “Instead, the company appears to be trying to emerge from bankruptcy with an unrealistic and unlikely plan.”
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Strategy + Advice
More and more companies are implementing menopause-friendly workplace practices. Here's why it actually benefits everyone.
While artificial intelligence is being used for many things in the workplace, here are three things you shouldn't delegate to AI.
why HR leaders need to reset their thinking about AI.
quiz
Google announced it would limit new AI-generated search results because the tool produced summaries that were “weird, inaccurate or unhelpful,” executives said. The problematic results included which of the following statements:
- Encourage humans to eat rocks
- This glue can be used to stick cheese to pizza.
- Former President Barack Obama is a Muslim
- all of the above
- none of the above
Check here if your answer is correct.
