Workplace AI Adoption Grows Despite Job Loss Fears, Microsoft Study Reveals

Microsoft released a study on where our time goes at work.      Under the guise of “Will AI Fix work?” the study examines where our time goes.

68% of people say they don’t have enough uninterrupted focus time during the workday.    57% of time spent in Microsoft 365 is on email and teams, while 43% is on creation.   That’s 15% of the time on email, 23% in teams meetings, and 19% in teams chat.

64% say they struggle with having the time and energy to do their job — and those people are 3.5 times more likely to also struggle with innovation and strategic thinking, according to the report.

But there’s optimism.

3 in 4 people say they would be comfortable using AI for administrative tasks (76%),

But most people also said they would be comfortable using it for analytical (79%) and even creative work (73%). People are also looking for AI to assist with finding the right information and answers they need (86%), summarizing their meetings and action items (80%), and planning their day (77%).

49% of people say they’re worried AI will replace their jobs; even more—70%—would delegate as much work as possible to AI to lessen their workloads.

82% of leaders say their employees will need new skills to be prepared for the growth of AI.

So that might be something useful to counterbalance off the Small Business Optimism Index fell by 1.1 points in April to 89—hitting the lowest level in just over ten years, as business owners reported dampened expectations for the broad economy, sales, and earnings, the National Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday.

I want to put some interesting data in from Common Sense Media – kids use AI more than their parents.    Only 30% of parents say they’ve used ChatGPT, compared with 58% of students between 12 and 18.  Kids are talking about the tech more, too. Only 30% of parents have heard much about ChatGPT, compared with 54% of students.  And those parents don’t know, either.    50% of students report using ChatGPT for school, while just 26% of parents say their kids have used it for school.

This parallels what we’re seeing in the workplace, too, with bosses unaware of their employee’s use of the technology. 

Humans are wired to find things to be fearful of – it’s a protective instinct that comes naturally.  We’re less able to predict positive outcomes.       Ideally, this unlock of technology will achieve making work better.  That said, it’s the space of implementers – IT services companies – to take advantage of that.      Ideally, find ways to help those small customers navigate their problems.