Things are moving fast, and this is polling data from the end of last year from Pew Research, but many of your employees may have more negative feelings toward AI than positive ones. It’s not a rout, but it is not a 50/50 split like seemingly everything else these days. This latest data shows real concerns by many. If you expect excitement and get glares in return as you bring up the topic don’t be surprised. It will be important to consider the view on both sides when introducing AI or even responding to the topic as a leader in your organization.
6% of workers said they thought workplace AI use would lead to more job opportunities for them in the long run, while a third (32%) say it will lead to fewer opportunities. So as you engage vendors, evaluate use cases, discuss or craft policy around privacy and security, maybe think about what’s really on your team’s mind first.
Perhaps open with a commitment to making your team more successful, more powerful, more capable and more valuable to you and the company. If all they see you talking about or focused on is “efficiency” or “productivity” without showing that you have first thought about their success as individuals, they won’t likely hear anything else you say.
Age matters but not as much as you might think, so consider your team’s demographics when you engage or present the topic. Younger folks are more excited and are your more prevalent users, but 26% of them still say they have heard nothing about AI in the workplace. So, like many new things there will be early adopters across the curve so don’t assume too much, just ask respectfully who’s using if you want to measure current engagement.
At the time of the survey only 16% of workers said they use generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Gemini. The use of these tools is more common among young workers: 22% of workers ages 18-29 use chatbots at least a few times a month, compared to 11% of workers ages 50-64. The most common uses for these tools are drafting written work, editing writing, and general research.
My expectation is that these use numbers are moving up fast across the age spectrum. As 2025 rolls ahead the user adoption trend is quickly making 2024 seem like the stone age as far as AI is concerned. So as we respond to that growth and interest, let’s remember that not everyone is thrilled and fear beats excitement every day of the week. Knock that fear out of the room first by stating clearly to your team how much of this is about making them successful, not redundant.
