Future of work

Artificial Intelligence is no longer a tool. It’s a transformative force that is helping to reshape the future of work. It is predicted that employees will take on new and different job roles, working side-by-side with AI-powered systems and processes. Coming together, teams are expected to work in new ways, and accelerate new and profound innovations. Such change places new pressures on business leaders. To responsibly seize the technological power of AI, leaders should be ready to lead their teams through the AI revolution. Specifically, they should ready employees and teams for the changes ahead, while helping them stay motivated throughout the journey to the future of work.

The future of work report explores the perceptions of employees on the future of work amid post-pandemic recovery, fast AI advancements, unstable geopolitical instability, and a looming global recession. It provides leaders the insights they need to begin to understand where their people are in their transformation journey today. Based on more than 4,000 employees from a cross-section of generations in the workplace, this KPMG-led research report delves into the minds of employees to understand how they feel about advanced technologies today and their confidence in their organizations’ plans for a future with AI. The analysis looks at primary and secondary data, as well as specialist opinions from leading professionals in Australia, Canada, Germany, the UK, and the US across various industries such as consumer/retail, government, healthcare and life sciences, financial services, technology.

The research shows workers lack awareness of, and confidence in, their firms’ technology strategies. Despite the race to embrace AI, little more than half of respondents (54 percent) said their employer has adopted new technologies over the past three years.

Sixty-six percent of employees expect technology to enhance their productivity over the next three years. More than a third say new technology will automate as much as 30 percent of their job; a quarter think it could automate up to half of their job.

Almost two in five workers feel that productivity improvements are outweighed by the effect on their wellbeing and mental health. A fifth believe technology has impaired their productivity.

Thirty-six percent say their organization is unclear on how its workforce must change to meet future business and customer needs based on the company’s current data and technology stack.

Sixty-two percent say a company’s investment in upskilling influences their decision to join, leave or stay with an organization whereas only 56% say their organization is proactively investing in reskilling and upskilling.