Study: Companies Haven’t Redesigned Jobs Around AI Yet

A new study finds organizations haven’t redesigned jobs around AI yet, despite the technology making massive waves across the industry.

Currently, companies are focused on employee training and education, encouraging workers to become AI fluent. However, it’s still believed entry-level roles will drastically change due to automation.

Across several studies, AI has led to productivity gains for workers. Trust is also increasing from business leaders, although workers remain skeptical.

Prioritizing AI Fluency Over Job Redesign

According to a new study from Deloitte, 84% of companies haven’t redesigned jobs or changed the nature of work to fit current AI capabilities.

In reality, companies are focused on educating employees on AI. Overall, the study finds insufficient worker AI skills are the biggest barrier to AI adoption. But, less than half of companies reported making changes to their talent strategies to reflect this.

Within a year, 36% of companies said they expect at least 10% of their jobs to be fully automated. When looking ahead three years, this number increases to 82%, suggesting belief in AI as a transformative tool remains high.

AI Training Remains Key, But Entry-Level is at Risk

When introducing a new technology, it’s important to give employees the time and space to understand it. Given the speed at which AI has been developing and companies have been investing, it’s no wonder workers are falling short in their understanding of what AI can do.

In a recent study, almost 40% of employees revealed they hadn’t received any AI policy information at onboarding. Of those that did, over 1 in 10 said they’d retained little to none of it. This not only poses serious security and data risks for businesses, but it means workers could be approaching AI with little to no understanding of how it works at their companies, slowing down progress.

On the other hand, leaders in qualitative interviews with Deloitte expressed concern about the potential disruption of job trajectories. This is because entry-level jobs including data entry, reconciliation, and first-level customer support are being prioritized for automation at their companies.

Entry-level roles might be easily automated, but they’re also an important stepping stone for individuals to develop themselves within the workplace. Experts have suggested the requirements of entry-level roles will most likely change with AI. Instead of showing they can punch numbers effectively, new hires will have to demonstrate qualities such as leadership and judgement.

Employees Remain Skeptical Despite Gains

AI productivity gains have been well-reported on, and it seems plenty of workers and businesses are seeing benefits. In the study, 25% of leaders report AI is having a transformative effect on their companies.

Similarly, 84% of organizations are increasing their AI investments, and 78% of leaders report greater confidence in the technology.

Leader backing is only one side of the coin. Workers need to be actively using and supporting AI initiatives in order for true transformation to occur. And, in its report, Deloitte described worker sentiment around AI as “cautiously positive.”

Numbers-wise, 13% of non-technical workers are highly enthusiastic about AI, and are proactively trying to use it. 55% are at least open to using AI. However, 21% prefer not to use AI but will do so if required, and 4% actively distrust and avoid the tech.

There still seems to be a lack of trust in AI. Not helped, of course, by the negative portrayal of what AI will do to jobs — and humanity in general — by leaders of frontier AI labs. Likewise, with many companies reportedly replacing workers with AI, or citing AI in layoff announcements, it’s understandable workers will approach the technology with caution, and sometimes disdain.

On the extreme end, in a study from Writer and Workplace Intelligence, 29% of workers admitted to actively sabotaging their company’s AI strategy.

Ultimately, companies should strive to position AI as a co-conspirator, rather than a replacement. Organizations should provide the right training and encouraging employees to experiment and use AI in a way that makes sense to them.