Staff fear it’s AI addio, it’s out the door we go

Two-thirds of workers and managers consider AI presents ethical challenges, and almost half think it will lead to job losses, with 26 per cent saying they would have chosen a different ­career if they had known the impact of AI on job security.

These are among the key findings of questions put to 1000 Australian workers, managers and executives by human resources tech giant Dayforce, which surveyed 7000 participants across six countries. Seventy-four per cent of Australian workers said it was important to them to develop their AI skills and 56 per cent said they trusted their employer to use AI ethically, the highest trust rating among the surveyed countries, including the United States, Britain and Canada.

The expectation that employers be required to reskill workers impacted by AI is also the highest, as a percentage, in Australia.

According to the survey, one in seven Australian workers said their role had changed due to AI, and 40 per cent expected more change soon.

While one quarter said their skills were becoming obsolete due to the increasing use of AI, 56 per cent of Australian companies said they did not have a program in place to reskill or transition ­employees affected by AI.

Highlighting a divide between executives and their workforce, 72 per cent of executives said they had received AI training in the past year, compared to 32 per cent of managers and 17 per cent of workers, the latter percentage similar to that of the US.

Australian executives were nearly 30 per cent more likely than workers to trust their organisation to use AI responsibly, showing a significant trust gap. Almost one quarter of organisations do not have a documented policy of AI use.

Releasing the research to ­coincide with the Dayforce Discover conference in Las Vegas, the company said the survey results showed there was a “widening AI confidence gap” between executives and employees.

Dayforce chief people officer Amy Cappellanti-Wolf said employees were “eager to grow, but without a clear strategy for training and career mobility, organisations risk creating a two-tier workforce – those driving innovation with AI and those struggling to keep pace”.

Rob Husband, vice-president, Australia and New Zealand, at Dayforce, cited recent Productivity Commission research which estimated that AI could add $116bn to Australia’s economy over the next decade. “However, our findings show most businesses are not yet realising its full value,” Mr Husband said.

“Employees are eager to reskill and take on new opportunities, but without investment in training, transparency and career mobility, Australia’s businesses risk chasing market noise rather than creating lasting impact.”

He said ensuring motivated workers were given opportunities to learn was key.

“With the right adoption of AI in place, organisations will be able to quantify their employees’ skills and capabilities, document their goals and generate personalised career development plans,” he said. “That’s good for HR teams and even better for your workforce at large.”

According to a separate study into the public’s trust, use and attitudes towards AI, just 30 per cent of Australians believe the benefits of using it outweigh the risks. The study at the University of Melbourne found Australians also rank lowest globally in their interest in learning more about AI.

This article first appeared in The Australian as Staff fear it’s AI addio, it’s out the door we go

Ewin Hannan was attending the Las Vegas conference at the invitation of Dayforce, which paid for his flights and accommodation.