Almost half of Gen Z hide their AI use at work
A new survey shows that nearly half of Gen Z workers (48 percent) quietly keep their AI use under wraps -- roughly in line with the 45 percent of all employees who say the same.
But the research from Slingshot finds that, unlike their older colleagues, Gen Zers (ages 18-28) conceal their AI use because of concerns about being judged (47 percent) or that it will be seen as cutting corners (44 percent).
Millennials (ages 29-44) (44 percent), Gen X employees (ages 45-60) (57 percent) and Boomers (aged 61+) (47 percent), on the other hand, don’t disclose their AI use simply because they don't feel the need to. Older generations may feel more comfortable using AI because they’ve already established themselves in their roles, whereas Gen Z employees are still navigating workplace expectations.
The report, based on responses from 500 adult respondents across four age groups and all 50 US states, also shows that people across the board are using AI on their own initiative. Only 28 percent of companies say they require employees to use AI tools. Yet 87 percent of employees are using it voluntarily. 66 percent of employees say they are curious about using AI, which shows that they see value in AI and are open to bringing it into their workflows.
Employees say they primarily use AI to check or improve their work (54 percent) and draft emails, reports and other written content (52 percent), but managers and higher-level executives have their sights set higher. They use AI for more strategic tasks, including analyzing team and business data (56 percent), conducting research (52 percent) and managing team priorities (47 percent).
“Before companies can be fully AI-powered, they have to focus on being AI-ready -- which, for many organizations, has taken a back seat to adopting an abundance of new AI tools,” says Dean Guida, founder of Slingshot. “A company going ‘all in on AI’ doesn’t translate to an immediate difference in how employees do their jobs–there are many operational and culture shifts that need to happen to unlock its full potential and drive business results. Beyond the technical work to support this, a big part of creating an AI-powered organization is to establish clear AI policies, promote AI transparency and invest in continued employee AI education and training.”
AI is creeping into people’s personal lives too, while a-third of employees (33 percent) say they use AI more frequently, or solely, at work than at home, AI’s mainstream appeal is slowly working into employees’ personal life. 31 percent of employees say they use AI at work and at home equally, and 22 percent say they use AI more in their personal life than they do at work.
The full report is available from the slingshot site.
Image credit: olly18/depositphotos.com
