Upwork Study Finds Employee Workloads Rising Despite Increased C-Suite Investment in Artificial Intelligence
Data reveals 96% of C-suite leaders expect AI to boost worker productivity, but 77% of employees report AI has increased their workload SAN FRANCISCO, July 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Upwork Inc. (Nasdaq: UPWK), the world’s work marketplace that connects businesses with independent talent, today released a new study from The Upwork Research Institute revealing that AI is increasing the workloads of full-time employees, hampering productivity, and contributing to employee burnout. While business leaders are investing heavily in AI, the study shows that most organizations are currently failing to unlock the full productivity value of the technology. Despite 96% of C-suite leaders expressing high expectations that AI will enhance productivity, 77% of employees using AI say these tools have added to their workload, and nearly half (47%) of employees using AI report they do not know how to achieve the expected productivity gains. Key findings from the report include: Workers are feeling the strain from rising productivity demands, with 1 in 3 full-time employees saying they will likely quit their jobs in the next six months: 81% of global C-suite leaders acknowledge they have increased demands on their workers in the past year. Consequently, 71% of full-time employees are burned out, and 65% report struggling with their employer’s demands on their productivity. Alarmingly, 1 in 3 employees say they will likely quit their jobs in the next six months due to burnout or being overworked. C-suite leaders have high hopes that AI will help boost productivity, but employees are experiencing the opposite, with AI making their jobs harder: 96% of C-suite leaders expect the use of AI tools to increase their company’s overall productivity levels. Already, 85% of companies are using AI, including 39% mandating the use of AI tools and 46% encouraging their use. However, 77% of employees report that these tools have added to their workload. Employees report spending more time reviewing or moderating AI-generated content (39%), investing more time learning how to use these tools (23%), and being asked to do more work as a direct result of AI (21%). For many workers, the path to achieving the productivity gains that employers expect is not clear: Nearly half (47%) of employees using AI say they have no idea how to achieve the productivity gains their employers expect, and 40% feel their company is asking too much of them when it comes to AI. Freelancers unlock productivity with AI, outpacing full-time employees: Nearly half (48%) of freelancers say they’re “somewhat” or “highly” skilled at using AI, and over a third (34%) use AI tools at least 1-2 days per week. Additionally, more than half (56%) of freelancers say they do not experience struggles keeping pace with productivity demands of clients, as compared to just 35% of their full-time employee counterparts. Many C-suite leaders have doubled organizational agility as well as well-being and engagement among full-time employees as a result of bringing in freelance talent: C-suite leaders leveraging freelancers say they have at least doubled the following outcomes for their business: organizational agility (45%), quality of work being produced (40%), innovation (39%), scalability (39%), revenue and bottom line (36%), and efficiency (34%). More than a third (35%) report also doubling the level of well-being and engagement among their full-time employees as a result of bringing in freelance talent. Nearly half (48%) of C-suite executives even report hiring freelancers to execute delayed AI projects over the past year. “In order to reap the full productivity value of AI, leaders need to create an AI-enhanced work model,” Monahan continued. “This includes leveraging alternative talent pools that are AI-ready, co-creating measures of productivity with their workforces, and developing a deep understanding of and proficiency in implementing a skills-based approach to hiring and talent development. Only then will leaders be able to avoid the risk of losing critical workers and advance their innovation agenda.” For full study findings and insights, visit: <https://www.upwork.com/research/ai-enhanced-work-models> <https://investors.upwork.com/news-releases/news-release-details/upwork-study...>
Estremizzando la sintesi mi pare si possa dire che la situazione è questa: - i capi hanno aderito all'assioma mediatico che con l'IA il dipendente debba essere più produttivo, ma metà dei dipendenti non ha idea di come fare; - per qualche motivo i consulenti sembrano invece non avere problemi ad essere più produttivi - quindi i capi esternalizzano il lavoro. Se non esagero, la storia ricorda quella dei primi anni 2000 in cui tutti facevano outsourcing pensando di risparmiare e si sono poi ricreduti di brutto. Ciao, Enrico ------ Messaggio originale ------ Da "Daniela Tafani" <daniela.tafani@unipi.it> A "nexa@server-nexa.polito.it" <nexa@server-nexa.polito.it> Data 28/07/2024 23:38:48 Oggetto [nexa] Upwork Study Finds Employee Workloads Rising Despite Increased C-Suite Investment in Artificial Intelligence
Data reveals 96% of C-suite leaders expect AI to boost worker productivity, but 77% of employees report AI has increased their workload
SAN FRANCISCO, July 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Upwork Inc. (Nasdaq: UPWK), the world’s work marketplace that connects businesses with independent talent, today released a new study from The Upwork Research Institute revealing that AI is increasing the workloads of full-time employees, hampering productivity, and contributing to employee burnout.
While business leaders are investing heavily in AI, the study shows that most organizations are currently failing to unlock the full productivity value of the technology. Despite 96% of C-suite leaders expressing high expectations that AI will enhance productivity, 77% of employees using AI say these tools have added to their workload, and nearly half (47%) of employees using AI report they do not know how to achieve the expected productivity gains.
Key findings from the report include:
Workers are feeling the strain from rising productivity demands, with 1 in 3 full-time employees saying they will likely quit their jobs in the next six months: 81% of global C-suite leaders acknowledge they have increased demands on their workers in the past year. Consequently, 71% of full-time employees are burned out, and 65% report struggling with their employer’s demands on their productivity. Alarmingly, 1 in 3 employees say they will likely quit their jobs in the next six months due to burnout or being overworked. C-suite leaders have high hopes that AI will help boost productivity, but employees are experiencing the opposite, with AI making their jobs harder: 96% of C-suite leaders expect the use of AI tools to increase their company’s overall productivity levels. Already, 85% of companies are using AI, including 39% mandating the use of AI tools and 46% encouraging their use. However, 77% of employees report that these tools have added to their workload. Employees report spending more time reviewing or moderating AI-generated content (39%), investing more time learning how to use these tools (23%), and being asked to do more work as a direct result of AI (21%).
For many workers, the path to achieving the productivity gains that employers expect is not clear: Nearly half (47%) of employees using AI say they have no idea how to achieve the productivity gains their employers expect, and 40% feel their company is asking too much of them when it comes to AI. Freelancers unlock productivity with AI, outpacing full-time employees: Nearly half (48%) of freelancers say they’re “somewhat” or “highly” skilled at using AI, and over a third (34%) use AI tools at least 1-2 days per week. Additionally, more than half (56%) of freelancers say they do not experience struggles keeping pace with productivity demands of clients, as compared to just 35% of their full-time employee counterparts.
Many C-suite leaders have doubled organizational agility as well as well-being and engagement among full-time employees as a result of bringing in freelance talent: C-suite leaders leveraging freelancers say they have at least doubled the following outcomes for their business: organizational agility (45%), quality of work being produced (40%), innovation (39%), scalability (39%), revenue and bottom line (36%), and efficiency (34%). More than a third (35%) report also doubling the level of well-being and engagement among their full-time employees as a result of bringing in freelance talent. Nearly half (48%) of C-suite executives even report hiring freelancers to execute delayed AI projects over the past year.
“In order to reap the full productivity value of AI, leaders need to create an AI-enhanced work model,” Monahan continued. “This includes leveraging alternative talent pools that are AI-ready, co-creating measures of productivity with their workforces, and developing a deep understanding of and proficiency in implementing a skills-based approach to hiring and talent development. Only then will leaders be able to avoid the risk of losing critical workers and advance their innovation agenda.”
For full study findings and insights, visit: <https://www.upwork.com/research/ai-enhanced-work-models>
<https://investors.upwork.com/news-releases/news-release-details/upwork-study...>
-- EN https://www.hoepli.it/libro/la-rivoluzione-informatica/9788896069516.html ====================================================== Prof. Enrico Nardelli Past President di "Informatics Europe" Direttore del Laboratorio Nazionale "Informatica e Scuola" del CINI Dipartimento di Matematica - Universit� di Roma "Tor Vergata" Via della Ricerca Scientifica snc - 00133 Roma home page: https://www.mat.uniroma2.it/~nardelli blog: https://link-and-think.blogspot.it/ tel: +39 06 7259.4204 fax: +39 06 7259.4699 mobile: +39 335 590.2331 e-mail: nardelli@mat.uniroma2.it online meeting: https://blue.meet.garr.it/b/enr-y7f-t0q-ont ====================================================== --
Ciao, Enrico, Il 29/07/24 17:23, Enrico Nardelli ha scritto:
Estremizzando la sintesi mi pare si possa dire che la situazione è questa: - i capi hanno aderito all'assioma mediatico che con l'IA il dipendente debba essere più produttivo, ma metà dei dipendenti non ha idea di come fare; - per qualche motivo i consulenti sembrano invece non avere problemi ad essere più produttivi - quindi i capi esternalizzano il lavoro.
Cory Doctorow propone questa sintesi: lavorare in un posto di lavoro dotato di IA è come essere il genitore di un bambino bizzoso, che ha comprato un milione di allevamenti di scimmie di mare dall'ultima pagina di un fumetto (acquistandoli da un noto negazionista dell'Olocausto) e ti rovina la vita chiedendoti di capire come far indossare a quei minuscoli animaletti delle coroncine, come fanno nella pubblicità. When I took my kid to New Zealand with me on a book-tour, I was delighted to learn that grocery stores had special aisles where all the kids'-eye-level candy had been removed, to minimize nagging. What a great idea! Related: countries around the world limit advertising to children, for two reasons: 1) Kids may not be stupid, but they are inexperienced, and that makes them gullible; and 2) Kids don't have money of their own, so their path to getting the stuff they see in ads is nagging their parents, which creates a natural constituency to support limits on kids' advertising (nagged parents). There's something especially annoying about ads targeted at getting credulous people to coerce or torment other people on behalf of the advertiser. For example, AI companies spent millions targeting your boss in an effort to convince them that you can be replaced with a chatbot that absolutely, positively cannot do your job. Your boss has no idea what your job entails, and is (not so) secretly convinced that you're a featherbedding parasite who only shows up for work because you fear the breadline, and not because your job is a) challenging, or b) rewarding: <https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/19/make-them-afraid/#fear-is-their-mind-kill...> That makes them prime marks for chatbot-peddling AI pitchmen. Your boss would love to fire you and replace you with a chatbot. Chatbots don't unionize, they don't backtalk about stupid orders, and they don't experience any inconvenient moral injury when ordered to enshittify the product: <https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/25/moral-injury/#enshittification> Bosses are Bizarro-world Marxists. Like Marxists, your boss's worldview is organized around the principle that every dollar you take home in wages is a dollar that isn't available for executive bonuses, stock buybacks or dividends. That's why you boss is insatiably horny for firing you and replacing you with software. Software is cheaper, and it doesn't advocate for higher wages. That makes your boss such an easy mark for AI pitchmen, which explains the vast gap between the valuation of AI companies and the utility of AI to the customers that buy those companies' products. As an investor, buying shares in AI might represent a bet the usefulness of AI – but for many of those investors, backing an AI company is actually a bet on your boss's credulity and contempt for you and your job. But bosses' resemblance to toddlers doesn't end with their credulity. A toddler's path to getting that eye-height candy-bar goes through their exhausted parents. Your boss's path to realizing the productivity gains promised by an AI salesman runs through you. Continua qui: <https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/25/accountability-sinks/#work-harder-not-sma...>
participants (2)
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Daniela Tafani -
Enrico Nardelli