Nearly half of workers think using AI makes them look lazy and incompetent

AI adoption is slowing among workers globally as employees report hiding their use of the technology from leaders amid concerns over how it reflects on them.

Slack’s Autumn 2024 Workforce Index surveyed 10,000 desk workers around the world and found the growth in AI usage has cooled, with the study noting that usage rates plateaued after steady growth earlier this year.

This deceleration was particularly pronounced in the US, where AI usage grew from 32% to 33% in the last three months, compared to a 9% growth recorded during a three-month period earlier this year.

Slack found many workers are actually hiding their use of AI out of fear or confusion over whether it’s professionally acceptable to use the technology at work.

When presented with a list of 11 common workplace tasks, including writing messages, generating new ideas, analyzing data, or writing code, nearly half 48% of all desk workers said they were uncomfortable admitting to their manager that they used AI during these activities.

For those who reported feeling uncomfortable about their AI use, the most popular reasons offered were feeling like using AI is cheating (47%), the fear of being seen as less competent by using AI (46%), and the fear of being seen as lazy (46%).

Slack noted that the least common reason given for not being comfortable using AI was that ‘AI use is discouraged or not allowed by company policy, indicating its the perception around using AI rather than its permissibility that is putting employees off.

Christina Janzer, head of Workforce Labs at Slack, said this underscores an important takeaway for business leaders - that shifting the norms around AI could unlock confidence in their teams to leverage the technology in their workflows.

“Our research shows that even if AI helped you complete a task more quickly and efficiently, plenty of people wouldn’t want their bosses to know they used it,”she said.

“Leaders need to understand that this technology doesn’t just exist in a business context of ‘can I get the job done as quickly and effectively as possible,’ but in a social context of ‘what will people think if they know I used this tool for help?'”

Excitement for AI slows as workers struggle with norms around its use

Excitement around AI is also falling, according to Slack, which found that hype around the technology fell 6% among the global population from March to August this year.

Once again, this fall off in AI excitement was most prominent in the US, which fell by 9% over the same time frame.

Slack cautioned that this pattern matches a typical maturity curve for new technologies, but its data has highlighted a number of blockers that could be inhibiting confidence in the technology.

First among these was discomfort with AI norms, with workers unsure about what types of AI are permitted in their organization, and when it's professionally and socially acceptable to use the technology at work.

Some workers also raised the view that AI is not yet living up to the hype it has generated, with Slack’s data revealing a disconnect between workers and leaders on how they should spend the new time AI saves them every week.

“Employees are worried that the time they save with AI will actually increase their workload – with leaders expecting them to do more work, at a faster pace,” Janzer added.

“This presents an opportunity for leaders to redefine what they mean by ‘productivity,’ inspiring employees to improve the quality of their work – not just the quantity.”

Finally, workers said a lack of clear company permissions and training around AI was limiting their ability to fully embrace the technology.

For example, just 7% of desk workers consider themselves AI experts, whereas 61% of respondents said they had spent less than five hours learning how to use AI and 30% of workers said they’ve had no AI training at all.

As a result, Slack recommended that leaders ensure they give explicit permission for workers to use AI tools, and create a mix of employer and employee-led training programs, which 70% of workers said would be the most beneficial approach to AI training.

Slack also suggested businesses try to use AI more publicly to reconfigure company norms around its use, as well as making AI use more visible by creating specific communication channels for AI support, troubleshooting, and training.

The survey data revealed that those who are comfortable sharing AI use with their manager are 67% more likely to have used it for work, indicating that shifting these norms could go a long way in boosting adoption among staff.