According to a survey commissioned by UiPath, 60% of Singapore workers are using generative AI (Gen AI) at work, the highest usage rate in the world, tied with Hong Kong.
Amid an increasingly challenging economic backdrop, Singapore workers are bearing the brunt of increased workloads, especially with Singapore's growth recovery uncertain. This has led to almost a third (30%) of Singapore employees saying they are extremely or very burnt out, compared to 2023 (26%).
To reduce burnout and improve engagement in the workplace, Singapore workers want a lighter workload (62%), more time and bandwidth to complete tasks (46%), and access to AI and automation, including Gen AI tools (43%).
Similarly, Gen AI is also seen as a potential solution to combat burnout by giving employees back time in their day: 62% of Singapore workers using Gen AI at work believe it has saved them time on work-related tasks, with more than two in five (42%) workers saving more than 10 hours, resulting in more time for creative tasks (53%), more time with family (49%), and getting work done faster (45%).
While the majority of Singapore workers (65%) are not using Gen AI and business automation together, those who are are seeing significant productivity gains: by leveraging both technologies, one in two Singapore workers (50%) have become more productive and completed tasks faster, and nearly half (46%) have seen an improvement in their work-life balance.
“For Singapore to realise its ambition to become a global AI hub through its National AI Strategy 2.0, the widespread adoption of technologies such as Gen AI and business automation will be critical to maintaining a competitive advantage in the digital economy. For businesses that have yet to translate AI's potential into outcomes, automation is a key piece of the puzzle to make AI practical,” said Jess O'Reilly, Regional Vice President, Asia, UiPath.
The survey of 1,133 full-time Singaporean workers also found that:
- Singapore workers generally trust Gen AI tools to drive business value. 58% of employees believe that Gen AI tools contain the necessary context from their company’s data to support business processes and add value.
- Concerns remain about drawbacks and risks to using Gen AI.
- Workers’ biggest concerns about using Gen AI are security risks (38%), inaccurate output (34%) and compliance risks (31%).
- However, Singapore workers generally have more confidence in AI outcomes (66%) compared to their global counterparts (48%).
- At the same time, employees are also experiencing a lack of direction regarding company policies on using Gen AI tools, with 42% of employees saying their company doesn’t provide them with training or guidelines on how to use Gen AI.
- Millennial and Gen Z workers in Singapore are more likely to use Gen AI tools in the workplace, and perceive greater time-saving benefits from the adoption of these tools than older generations.
- 77% of Gen Z and 66% of Millennials believe that Generation AI has saved them time on work-related tasks, while 50% of Gen X and 37% of Baby Boomers believe that Generation AI has saved them time on work-related tasks.
- A majority of Singapore's workers across generations generally trust the outcomes they can get from Gen AI tools.
- 78% of Gen Z, 68% of Millennials, 57% of Gen X, and 60% of Baby Boomers trust the output of Gen AI.
- Gen AI tools have increased productivity by primarily assisting Singapore workers with tasks such as writing communications (44%), summarizing long-form content (34%) and brainstorming (34%).
“Our findings show that Singapore's workforce who embrace both technologies are more productive and enjoy a better work-life balance. To foster a more fulfilling workforce, efforts to close the skills gap and increase trust in AI, as well as strategic public-private partnerships, will be key to helping workers embrace digital transformation in the AI era,” O'Reilly added.
