Study reveals In many jobs, AI tools are more of a hindrance than a help
AI tools are supposed to make everyday working life easier and help increase efficiency. In practice, however, this is often not the case, as a new study now shows.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- A study conducted by the Walr Institute on behalf of Upwork shows that most employees find AI tools stressful.
- 40 percent of employees think that managers have too high expectations of the use of AI, and 47 percent do not know how AI should support their work.
- Nevertheless, managers have great confidence in the new technology.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to revolutionize the world of work and support employees by taking over repetitive tasks and processing data efficiently. However, a new study conducted by the Walr Institute on behalf of Upwork suggests that this is often not the case in practice. Instead, many employees find AI disruptive and report negative effects on their productivity.
The study surveyed 2,500 employees from English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, the USA, Canada and Australia. The results are sobering: although 96 percent of senior managers hope that AI tools will increase their company's productivity, 77 percent of employees see it differently. They report that AI tools increase their workload.
A key problem is the amount of time many employees have to invest in moderating and reviewing AI-generated results. 39 percent of those surveyed stated that these tasks take up a significant proportion of their working time. In addition, 23 percent of employees invest time and energy in learning how to use and improve the new tools. Another point of criticism: 21% of respondents feel pressured by their superiors to do more work with the help of AI. A full 40 percent are of the opinion that managers' expectations regarding the use of AI are excessive. Particularly alarming: 47 percent of employees do not know exactly how AI should support their work.
Freelancers cope better
The situation is different for self-employed freelancers. Here, 34 percent of respondents use AI tools one to two days per working week. Almost half of freelancers consider themselves competent in dealing with AI. This is likely due to the fact that freelancers often have to decide for themselves which tools they use to optimize their working hours and work more efficiently.
"Our research shows that introducing new technologies into outdated working models and systems is not enough to fully realize the expected productivity value of AI," says Kelly Monahan, Director of the Upwork Research Institute. "To realize the full productivity value of AI, leaders need to create an AI-enabled work model."
The results of the study make it clear that the implementation of AI in work processes must be well thought out and accompanied in order to realize the hoped-for efficiency gains. Managers and executives are required to set realistic expectations and train their employees specifically in the use of AI tools. Only in this way can the potential of artificial intelligence actually be exploited.
