Digital Work Trends Report
Businesses across industries are incorporating AI into their strategies and operations, including teams’ day to day workflows.
Slingshot’s Digital Work Trends report explores employer and employee sentiment around AI in the workplace, examining levels of reliance, comfortability and training as well as perceptions on AI’s role within teams. Slingshot surveyed 500 full-time U.S. employees and managers, across four age groups, to understand how employers and employees differ in their AI views, as well as the differences across generations.
Part 2: AI Teammates vs. Tools
According to Part 2 of the Digital Work Trends report, employers increasingly see AI as a “teammate”, but employees instead view AI as simply a tool. The report reveals a disconnect in employers’ and employees’perceptions of AI’s role in the workplace.
Employers see AI as a teammate, employees see it as just a tool
Almost half of employers (41%) are ready to embrace AI as another member of the team.
Employees are not aligned with this characterization of the technology, instead viewing AI more as a helpful tool (52%) rather than as a coworker (20%).
Younger employees are the most subscribed to the “teammate” mentality
Gen Z employees (28%) and Millennial employees (24%) are the most likely to view AI as a teammate.
These same younger generations are most likely to see AI’s collaborative potential as a competitive threat with 17% of Millennials and 19% of Gen Z expressing concern over being replaced with AI.
Employees don’t need AI to do their jobs, but use it for support
Over half (54%) of employees say that while AI is helpful, it isn’t critical to their work.
AI reliance is still minimal, with only 2% of employees saying they can’t do their job without it.
AI isn’t as mandatory as the C-suite thinks
C-suite executives (86%) believe that AI usage is being required in their company’s operations, but only 49% of mid-level management agree.
Only 2% of C-suite executives say that AI is completely optional at their company.
Employees still don’t feel adequately educated on AI tools
Only 8% of employees believe they’re completely trained on AI tools.
The younger generation is the most proficient, with Gen Z employees demonstrating the most confidence with AI tools (43%) compared to Boomers (15%).
C-suite executives think employees are using data more frequently than they are
Only 31% of employees say they use data to drive decisions regularly.
This reveals a sharp contrast in how employees are using data and how C-suite executives believe they are, with 70% of the employers stating that employees are constantly relying on data.
Employees rely on their own experience to inform decisions.
The top reasons employees don’t regularly use data themselves to make decisions are reliance on their own personal experience (29%) and the use of an outside data analyst or team (27%).
Employers who are aware that employees aren’t using data regularly are aligned on the reasoning, with 40% citing personal experience and 39% citing data analysts.
