Three Ways AI Is Making Employees Happier
by Weronika Niemczyk, Chief People Officer
Overall, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve the employee experience by streamlining processes, providing personalized learning opportunities, and promoting work-life balance. The future of work is one where AI is leveraged to make your employees happier.
In just three years, the pandemic changed workplace culture across the globe. Businesses across industries shifted to remote or hybrid work and trends from the “Great Resignation” to “Quiet Quitting” highlight a new reality: work-life balance and productive use of time are not only here to stay, they are crucial elements to attract and retain talent.
In response, companies are increasingly focusing on improving “digital employee experience” (DEX) as a means to increase productivity while at the same time increase employee engagement. Forrester defines DEX as:
The sum of all of the perceptions that employees have about working with the technology they use to complete their daily work and manage their relationship with their employer across the lifecycle of their employment.
Forrester, “The Rise of Digital Employee Experience Teams,” May 18, 2022
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have proven effective at improving employee engagement, increasing job satisfaction, and supporting happier employees. Let’s explore three ways AI is making employees happier.
1. AI can find and customize opportunities to upskill your employees
According to PwC’s Global Artificial Intelligence Study, the potential contribution to the global economy by 2030 from AI is $15.7 trillion–that's more than the current output of China and India combined. Business leaders focused on the future of work must consider how to best leverage AI in their strategies to maintain competitive advantage not only for their customers, but for their employees as well.
“The Future of Work is no longer on the horizon; it has arrived. This collaboration is historic as it exemplifies the unique actions companies need to be taking to future-proof their workforces, by putting people first.”
Accenture’s Future Skills pilot program used AI to identify skills gaps in the workforce and developed a personalized learning experience, with AI giving powerful insight to new opportunities to upskill and transition people from work that may be displaced by technology.
“By 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced by machines, according to the Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2020, but 97 million new roles may emerge that are more adapted to the new division of labour between humans, machines and algorithms.”
World Economic Forum, This is how AI can unlock hidden talent in the workplace by Kate Whiting
Beyond cultivating a culture of learning and development, using data- and AI-driven insights to empower people to make personal choices about their careers is a win-win for all.
2. Give your employees more value for their time by using AI for manual, repetitive tasks
The United States annual productivity had its largest decline in measure since 1974, and with levels of employee burnout rising, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are a game changer for businesses looking to improve employee engagement and increase job satisfaction.
An ABBYY survey carried out by Sapio Research found that 92 percent of employees say they waste up to eight hours a WEEK searching documents for information they need to serve customers. That’s a whole day “lost” in emails, PDFs, Excel sheets, and other digital documents. It’s no surprise productivity levels are at a record low.
Use AI to automate repetitive mundane tasks, and free up time for employees to focus on more meaningful and fulfilling work. For example, UK-based company Costain automated its manual invoice process of 400,000 invoices, saving nine minutes per invoice, reducing employee (and customer) pain points. Updating their back-office systems also helped Costain to attract and retain top talent.
3. AI enables better work-life balance for your exhausted workforce
For businesses striving to maximize their employees’ potential and foster happiness in the workplace, employee engagement is a critical factor—but how can AI support this?
As a recent report examining the impact of AI on the workplace and employee well-being highlights, using AI tools to enhance customer experiences also benefits your employees. One solution is to leverage chatbots and conversational AI to automate certain tasks, such as document submission, streamline processes, and reduce workload.
When employees can focus on higher-value and positive impact tasks, a sense of pride and purpose develops—and implementing such tools to empower your workforce sets a positive tone all around. Companies that prioritize well-being are more likely to attract and retain talent and create a more productive workforce.
Another proposal for what can be done with time savings enabled by AI automation: consider a four-day work week.
A four-day week pilot program in the United Kingdom with 61 companies and around 2,900 workers participating reported the trial as a resounding success—and almost every company that participated will continue (92 percent). Levels of anxiety, fatigue, and sleep issues decreased, with about five out of seven employees reporting they had reduced levels of burnout at the end of the trial (71 percent).
AI is for everyone
Overall, AI has the potential to improve the employee experience by streamlining processes, providing personalized learning opportunities, and promoting work-life balance. The future of work is one where AI is leveraged to make your employees happier.
Weronika Niemczyk
Chief People Officer at ABBYY
Weronika Neimczyk is Chief People Officer at ABBYY and leads all aspects of improving the employee experience for ABBYY’s more than 1,200 global team members distributed across 14 countries and five continents. She brings more than 15 years of experience in Human Resources, having led diverse teams at Fortune 500 companies across multiple industries.
Connect with Weronika on LinkedIn.
Additional Insights:
