2025年人工智能与职场趋势洞察报告 THE IMPACT OF TECH ON THE WORK PLACE

THE

IMPACTOFTECH

ONTHEWORK

PLACE.

‘25

TheImpactofTechontheWorkplaceReport2025

CONTENTS

Foreword...............................................................

22.

02.Howistechnologyaffectingbusiness

security?................................................................

Methodology........................................................

03.Howistechnologychangingthe

31.

environmentweworkin?................................

Howistechnologyhelpingbusiness

grow?.......................................................................

Howistechnologychangingjobroles?....

43.

04.Lookingahead....................................................

13.

TheImpactofTechontheWorkplaceReport2025

FOREWORD

@

JackTurner

Editor,Tech.co

Lastyear,wepublishedthefirstTech.coannualreport,shiningalightonthetechadvancementsthatwereaiding,andailing,businessesacrosstheUS.Ofthese,there’snodoubtthattheonethatwasprovingthemostdisruptivewasAI.

Intheyearsince,thediscoursearoundAIhasevolved,andithasgonefromanemergenttechnologyto

onethatisascommonintheworkenvironmentas

emailorPowerPoint.Evenifyou’renotreachingforChatGPTonadailybasis,there’snodoubtthatthe

toolsyouareusingwillhaveAIcomponentsunder

thehood.AIhasfilledtheheadlinesoverthepast

year,andnotalwaysinapositiveway:concerns

aboutmillionsofworkersbeingreplacedbyAI,moralandlegalquestionsaboutthewaytheplatformsaretrainedonprivateandcommercialdata,andtroubleatthetopforthecompaniesthatareleadingthe

chargeintheindustry.

Butforallthisnegativediscourse,whateffecthas

AIactuallyhadonbusinesses?Asyou’llseeinthis

report,thenewsislargelypositive,althoughaswithanynewtechnology,thereisstillalotthatcompaniescanlearn.WhileAIiscentraltocurrentworkplace

trends,welookbeyondit,too.

Anotherhottopicforbusinessesinthelastyearhasbeenreturn-to-office(RTO)mandates,withthelikesofAmazonandDellrequiringsometeamstocome

backinforafull‘five-day’week.Tosaythemovehasbeendivisiveisanunderstatement,withemployeeangerculminatinginwalkoutsandresignations.

We’vegaugedthemoodonRTOmandatesin2025,askingindustryleaderswhattheirfutureplansare,anduncoveringtherealreasonswhysomanyare

downonhomeworking.Tome,themostsurprisingreasongivenforthepushbackagainstremoteworkisn’tprofitsorproductivity,butemployeewellbeing.

Thenthere’satopicthatIbelievewillbethenext

‘bigone’-the‘four-day’workweek.The‘five-day’

workweekwaspopularizedbyHenryFordjustoverahundredyearsago,isitnowtimeforthenextlogicalstepforworkers?

Weaskedbusinessleadershowlikelythismightbe…

Withover1,000USbusinessesconsulted,what

followsisadetailedanalysisofhowtechnologyisworkingacrossindustries,howitisn’t,andwherewe’reheading.

02

TheImpactofTechontheWorkplaceReport2025

METHODOLOGY

Wesurveyed1,036US-basedseniorexecutives(e.g.directors,departmentheads)andworkplacemanagersofbusinesseswith10+employees,acrossarangeofindustries,toensurethatourdatacapturedtheexperiencesandperspectivesofindividualsholdingkeyleadershiproleswithinestablishedorganizations.

Wesurveyedcompanieswith10ormoreemployees,acrossarangeofindustries,toensurethatour

datacapturedtheexperiencesandperspectivesofindividualsholdingkeyleadershiproleswithinestablishedorganizations.

Toensureanimpartialandunbiasedsample,thisreport’sdatawasgatheredthroughasurveywithparticipantsselectedviaathird-partypanel

provider,inSeptember2024.

Age:

17%

25-34

35%

35-44

26%

35-44

20%

35-44

2%

65andover

Gender:

49%

Female

51%

Male

Organizationsize(employeenumber):

61%

20%

12%

7%

10-24

25-49

50-99100andover

03

THE

IMPACTOFTECH

CHAPTER1.

ONTHEWORK

PLACE.

Howistechnologyhelpingbusinessesgrow?

、25

05

TheImpactofTechontheWorkplaceReport2025

HOWISTECHNOLOGYHELPINGBUSINESSESGROW?

Inthelastyear,therelationshipbetweentechnology

andbusinesshasgonefromstrengthtostrength,withtheoverwhelmingmajorityofbusinessleadersacknowledging

theintegralroleitplaysintheircompanies.

88%

10%

Importance

88%ofbusinessleadersrecognizethepivotalroleoftechnologyinboostingproductivity.

Investing

Almost10%ofAI-usingbusinessesarespendingover$500,000onAIperyear.

22%

44%

AIskills

ThepercentageofseniorleaderswhothinkthatAIskillsare“extremelyimportant”hasdoubledinayear(from11%to22%).

ROI

Nearly44%ofbusinessesreported“veryhigh”or“high”returnsoninvestmentfromtheirAI

initiatives.

ThiscanpartlybeexplainedbythegroundswellofAIactivitythathasexplodedoverthelast12months.In2023,themajorityofUSbusinesseswerenotusingAI,orwereonlyusingittoalimitedextent;today,

theoppositeistrue,withthenumberofbusinessesreportingextensiveAIuseshootingupby12%.

27%

Continuousgrowth

27%ofUSbusinessesstatethattheir

operationsdepartmenthasseenthemostgrowthduetonewtechnology.

73%

Marketleader

Microsoftmadesignificantgains(39%

increase)butChatGPTremainsthego-toforbusinesses(usedby73%ofbusinesses).

TheImpactofTechontheWorkplaceReport2025

06

TECHNOLOGYANDPRODUCTIVITYGO

HAND-IN-HAND

Businessleadershavegrowntodependontechnology,

whichcontinuestoplayanessentialroleintheireveryday

operations.Infact,astaggering88%ofseniorleadersrecognizethelinkbetweentechnologyandproductivity.Thispointstoa

near-totalrelianceonnewsystemstostreamlineprocesses,boostoutput,andsaveonthebottomline.

9/10seniorleadersstatetechnologyhasimprovedtheirorganization’sproductivityoverthepast12months.

Whenitcomestowhichdepartmentsarebenefitting,operationsteamsarewayoutinfrontofthepack,

with27%ofbusinessescitingoperationsasthe

areathathasseenthemostgrowthduetonew

technology.Next,aresalesteams(15%),productdevelopmentteams(14%),andhumanresourcesandcustomerservice(deadlockedon12%).Thesefindingsillustratethatkeepingupwiththelatestinnovationsisworthitsweightingold.

Ifthebusinesslandscapein2024was,inpart,

shapedbytechnology,thetechnologylandscapewasshapedbyonephenomenonaboveallelse:AI.

Overthelast12months,adoptionhasskyrocketed,

withbusinessesbigandsmallinvestingtime,money,andresourcesintoupskillingtheirworkers,exploringnewusecases,andultimatelyreapingthebenefits.Inlastyear’sreport,weintroducedGartner’sconcept

ofthe“hypecycle,”andconcludedthatAIwasatthe“peakstage.”DespitetheworldwidebuzzheraldedbytheemergenceofChatGPTinNovember2022,manybusinessleaderswereunconvincedbyitspotential.

Lastyear,themajorityofbusinessesweren’tusing

AIatall,orwereusingittoalimitedextent.Today,

just15%ofthebusinesseswesurveyedreportedthatthey’reyettojumponthebandwagon.

It’sanincredibleturnaroundthatisunderscoredby

theheadlines:theincreasingnumberofbusinesseslayingofftheiremployeesinfavorofautomation;theoutragedartistsfightingtoprotecttheintegrityof

theirwork;andthefranticcompetitionofcompaniesstrivingtowinthemodernspacerace.

TheImpactofTechontheWorkplaceReport2025

07

58%

pressurefromcompetitors

41%

pressurefrominvestors

30%

pressurefromstakeholders

WHOISPUSHINGFORAIIMPLEMENTATIONANDWHY?

What’sstrikingisthatthisvalueisrecognizedbothinthe

boardroomandacrossthebusiness.ThisprovesthatAIisnotjustperceivedasacrediblemeanstoboostROI;staffalsoappreciateitspotentialtoimprovework-lifebalance–inotherwords,anessentialbusinesstool.

Intermsofwherethepressuretoimplementitis

comingfrom,aclearpictureemergesfromour

research:Mostcompanies(58%)areconcernedthat,iftheydon’tinvestinAI,they’llgetleftbehind.Acrossthebusinessworld,there’sasharedrecognitionthatAIisaninevitability,andanyonedraggingtheirfeet

willsuffertheconsequences.

Otherfactorsincludepressurefrominvestors(41%)andshareholders(30%).Whateverthereasonmaybe,however,mostseniorleaders(61%)concurthatAIhasimprovedtheirwork-lifebalance,withonly

afractionstatingotherwise.

TheImpactofTechontheWorkplaceReport2025

HOWAREORGANIZATIONSUSINGAI?

HowhastheimplementationofAItoolsaffectedyourwork-lifebalance?

MostsurveyedrespondentsaremainlyusingAI

forwritingtasks,suchasemails,reports,and

presentations(43%).Alongsidethis,businessesareusingitfordataanalysis(37%),customersupportandchatbots(33%),anddesigntasks,suchascreating

imagesandgraphics(25%).

Comparedwithlastyear,weobservedasignificantincreaseinAIadoptionforwritingtasks(17%)andcustomersupportandchatbots(14%).Coincidingwithageneralsurgeinadoptionacrossthe

workplace,thissuggeststhattheseusecasesareabigpartofAI’sperceivedvalue.

2%I’mnotsure2%Significantlyworsened3%Slightlyworsened.33%Noeffect38%Slightlyimproved23%Significantlyimproved

08

TheImpactofTechontheWorkplaceReport2025

09

WhatdoesyourorganizationuseAIfor?[top4answersfrom2024,YoYdifference]

2024

2023

43%

37%

32%

26%

Dataanalysis

Writingtasks(e.g.emails,reports,presentations,etc.)

33%

19%

Customersupportandchatbots

Atthesametime,it’sagreatwaytoimprove

customersatisfactionbystreamliningthecustomerserviceworkflow.Gonearethedaysoflengthy

on-holdqueues;chatbotscanresolvemanyqueriesthemselves,orintelligentlyroutecustomerstotherightpersonfortheirspecificneeds.

Thebenefitsareclearforbothbusinessesand

employees.GenerativeAImodelscanspinupwrittencontentfromapromptinjustseconds,andcanbe

usedforarticles,productdescriptions,andothermarketingmaterial.

25%

19%

Designtasks(e.g.creatingimages,graphics,etc.)

TheImpactofTechontheWorkplaceReport2025

WHATDOESBUSINESSES’AISPENDINGLOOKLIKE?

OuranalysisrevealsthatAIspendinghasmovedbeyondmere

experimentationandtowardsstrategicinvestment.Thisissupportedbythefactthat,onaverage,two-thirdsofbusinessesarespending

atleast$10,000onhoningtheirstrategies,withover20%

spendingbetween$50,000and$100,000.

32%

32%

Towhatextentisyourorganizationseeingatangible

11%

6%

returnoninvestmentfromitsspendonAItools?

For9%ofbusinesses,meanwhile,theirannualoutlayexceeds$500,000.Lastyear,two-thirds(67%)of

businessleadersconfirmedthatAItoolswerenot

usedatall(34%)ortoalimitedextent(33%)intheirworkplaces.Thepicturestandsinstarkcontrasttotheonepaintedbyourfindingstoday,anditis,asdiscussed,drivenbythepressuresofcompetitors,shareholders,andinvestors.

AndwhataboutROI?Wecanrevealthemajorityof

businessessurveyed(44%)reportedeither“very

high”or“high”returns,withapproximatelyone-

third(32%)recordingreturnsthatalignedwiththeirexpectations.Just17%ofbusinesseswereleft

unsatisfied.Shareholdersandinvestorswillbehighlyencouraged;forthemostpart,theirexpenditureis

12%

8%

bearingfruit.

Verylow

Low

Neutral

High

Veryhigh

I’mnotsure

10

TheImpactofTechontheWorkplaceReport2025

11

HOWAREBUSINESSESSAFEGUARDINGTHEIRINVESTMENTS?

There’salotofriskinvolvedinfinancingarelativelyunknown

quantity.So,whatarebusinessesdoingtomakesuretheir

investmentspayoff?ThesuccessofanAIstrategypartly

dependsononboarding.Inotherwords,whetherornota

businessistrainingitsstafftogetthemostoutofthesetools.

Oursurveyfoundthatjustoverhalfofbusinessesare.

However,theresultshighlightastriking

connectionbetweenROIandcompaniesthattrain

theiremployeesonAI,with74%ofbusinesseswitha“substantial”ROIalsoconductingtrainingonAI

tools.Meanwhile,ofbusinesseswitha“verylow”ROI,only24%aretrainingtheiremployeestouseit.

Thesefindingswouldsuggestthatarewarding

AIstrategyhingesonaskilledworkforce.Moreover,withthetechnologyinitsrelativeinfancy,moving

swiftlytoeducateemployeescouldyieldbigrewardsforbusinesseslookingtoimproveontheirbottomline.

TheImpactofTechontheWorkplaceReport2025

WHICHTOOLSARETHEMOSTPOPULAR?

MicrosoftCopilot(formerlyBingAIChat),isusedby59%ofbusinessesthatreportedusingAI,whileGeminicomesinnextwith36%,followedbyClaude(11%),andJasper(8%).

Intermsofperformanceyear-on-year,theplatformshadcontrastingfortunes.ThebigwinnerisCopilot,

turnaroundisitsincreasingincorporationinto

otherMicrosoftproducts,includingitsOfficesuite.Bycontrast,Geminihadaturbulentyear,witha

rebrandinMarch2024precedinganumberof

newsworthyhallucinations,includingaseriesof

AI-generatedimagesthatweredeemedoffensive.

It’sdifficulttospeculatewhatpromptedthemodestfluctuationsthatotherplatformsexperienced.It

couldsimplybethecasethattheprominenceofChatGPTandMicrosoftCopilothasmomentarilypushedotherproviderstothemargins.And,as

humanbeingsarecreaturesofhabit,overhaulingthisdistanceislikelytobeanuphillstruggle.

WithalotofactivityintheAIspace,thebigquestionis–whichistheplatformofchoiceamongbusinesses?Theansweris,resoundingly,ChatGPT,with74%ofsenior

leadersreportingthattheircompanyusestheinfluentialgenerativeAIengine.

whichrecordeda38%increaseinusageamong

businesses.Gemini,however,fellby12%.Thepeople’schoice,ChatGPT,enjoyedan8%increase,further

consolidatingitsmarketdominance.

WhichAItool(s)doyouuseatwork?YoYcomparison.20232024

73%

WhenitcomestoAI,first-moveradvantageevidentlymatters.ApossibleexplanationforCopilot’sdramatic

65%

We’restillverymuchintheearlydaysofthisstageofAI,butitwilltakeamonumentalefforttounseatChatGPTasthingsstand.

48%

36%

21%

10%11%

9%8%

59%

ChatGPT

MicrosoftCopilot(formerlyBingAIChat)

Gemini(formerlyGoogleBardAI)

ClaudeAI

JasperAI

12

THE

IMPACTOFTECH

CHAPTER2.

ONTHEWORK

PLACE.

Howistechnologychangingjobroles?

、25

TheImpactofTechontheWorkplaceReport2025

14

AIalsoredefinesroles

AIreplacingsomeroles

AIismorelikelytoredefinejobrolesthanwipethemoutaltogether,asthevastmajorityof

businessesaren’tplanningtoreplaceworkerswiththetechnologyanytimesoon.

14%ofbusinessesusingAIhaveadmittedthatithasmaderolesobsoleteasaresult.

HOWISTECHNOLOGYCHANGINGJOB

ROLES?

Cutsduetorestructuring

38%ofbusinesseswesurveyedwhohave

recentlycutstaffdidsoduetoorganizationalrestructuring,comparedtoonly12%that

weredrivenbyautomationandtechnologicaladvancements.

AIadesirableskill

AIaptitudehasbecomeadramaticallymoreimportantconsiderationforhiringmanagers,with46%ofseniorleaderscurrentlyvaluingtheskillas“veryorextremelyimportant”

in2024.

KEYFINDINGS

AstheAIrevolutionmarcheson,thejobmarketcontinues

tobeimpactedinmultifacetedways,raisingunderstandable

concernsaboutfuturecareerstability.Yet,whileconversationsaroundAI’s‘job-stealingpotential’seemtohavetakencenter

Generationaltechuse

Whileolderemployeesaremorelikelytorelyontraditionaltoolslikelandlinephonesandemailstocommunicate,MillennialsandBabyBoomersbothuseanaverageofsixformsof

technologyintheworkplace.

stage,oursurveyresultssuggestthattheseanxietiesmaybeoverblownatthismomentintime.

Ourdataalsopointstoaninterestingshiftin

employerpreferences.WhileskillslikeAIanddata

analysisarerapidlygrowingindemand,thechangingtechnologicallandscapeisalsocementingthe

importanceof‘nonreplaceable’softskillssuchas

communication,timekeeping,andproblem-solving.AstoolssuchasChatGPTandGeminibecome

essentialformanyworkers,generativeAIisalso

shapingthewaysbusinessescommunicate,paving

AIforwritingtasks

thewayforinterestingdiscussionsaround

consumertrustandthevalueoforiginalcontent.

ThemostcommonwaybusinessesareusingAIin2024istostreamlinewritingtaskswith43%ofrespondentscurrentlyusingthetechnologyforthispurpose.

ButAIisfarfromtheonlytechnologybeingused

byworkers.Fromvideoconferencingtotask

management,employeescurrentlyrelyonawide

rangeofsoftwareinthemodernworkplace.And

despiteoldergenerationsoftenbeingthoughtofaslesstech-savvythantheiryoungercolleagues,theresultsofoursurveyhintatadifferentreality.

TheImpactofTechontheWorkplaceReport2025

15

DESPITETHERISEOFAI,MOSTBUSINESSESSTILLVALUEHUMANS

TheastronomicalriseofAItechnologyinrecentyearshas,understandably,leftworkersconcernedaboutfuturejob

security.

Thesefearsaren’tunfounded,withlargecompaniessuchasGoogleandSalesforcemakingmovesto

replaceworkerswithAIin2024,andmanysmallerenterprisesfollowingsuit.AIleadersthemselveshavestatedthetechnologywillleadtothelossofmillionsofjobs.However,whileAI’simpactontheworkforceisundeniable,ourfindingsrevealthatfearsmaybewildlyoverblown.

Accordingtooursurvey,thereisindeedacorrelationbetweenabusiness’sdeploymentofAIandthe

redundancyofcertainroles.Specifically,outofthe

businesseswesurveyedthatrecentlyampeduptheirAIusein2024,14%admitthatcertainroleshave

becomeobsoleteasaresult.Thisisa6%jumpfromlastyear.

However,beforealarmbellsstarttoring-there’sa

majorcaveat.WhiletheuseofAIintheworkplaceisskyrocketing-with17%morebusinessesclaiming

thattheyusethetechnologytoa“significantextent”comparedtolastyear-thisadoptionisn’tatall

proportionaltothenumberofjobsbeinglost.

Infact,thevastmajorityofbusinesseswesurveyedthatrelyheavilyonAIaren’tplanningtoletgoof

workersanytimesoon,suggestingthatemployersstillvaluehumanlaboroverhigh-techalternatives.ThedataalsounderscoresthefactthatasAI

becomesmorecommonplace,thetoolsaremorelikelytoredefinejobroles,thanstampthemoutaltogether.

6%

growthinAIjobreplacement

17%

growthinorganisationsusingAItoa“significantextent”

TheImpactofTechontheWorkplaceReport2025

16

BUSINESSESARE

PLANNINGTOBACKFILLROLESREPLACEDBY

AUTOMATION

Layoffshavecontinuedtofeatureheavilyinthe2024newscycle,asmajoremployersscaledowntheirworkforcetocutcosts.

WithcompanieslikeSantanderandSiemensrampinguptheirtechnologyspendingtostreamlinetasks

previouslycompletedbyhumans,automationiscommonlycitedasthemajorculpritofjoblosses.

However,theresultsofoursurveyshowadifferent

story.Only12%ofbusinessesthatrecentlychosetocutstaffdidsoduetoautomationandtechnologicaladvancements.Instead,internalfactorsprovedto

besignificantlymoreprevalent,with38%layingoffworkersduetoorganizationalrestructuring,and13%duetoacquisitions.

Butwhataboutthecompaniesthatdidcite

automationastheirbiggestreasonforaxingstaff?

Accordingtoourfindings,thesuccessratesofthese

strategyshiftsarelimited.Outofthecompaniesthathavereducedtheirworkforceduetoautomationandtechnicaladvancements,thevastmajority(78%)plantoresumehiringeffortsinthefuture.Withinthis

cohort,41%ofbusinessesplantocarryout“minimalbackfilling,”while11%aimtofullyrestoretheir

workforcetopre-layoffnumbers.Theseresponsesprovidehopeforthefutureemploymentlandscape,aseventhoughautomationhasthepotentialto

escalatejobreductions,onlyasmallnumberof

businessesarecurrentlypursuingthisstrategy.Thedataalsosuggeststhatbusinessesshouldthink

twicebeforereplacinghumanlaborbyautomating

processes,asthey’lllikelyenduphavingtorehirefortheserolesinthefutureanyway.

11%

Fullbackfilling

22%

Noplanstobackfill

15%

Significantbackfilling

11%

Partialbackfilling

41%

Minimalbackfilling

Doesyourorganizationplantobackfillthepositionslostinthepast12months?[filtered:onlyrespondentswhoseorganizationsarereducingheadcountdue

toautomationandtechnologicalchange]

TheImpactofTechontheWorkplaceReport2025

17

TECHSKILLSAREBECOMINGMOREVALUED

Softskillshavealwaysbeenheldinhighregardbyemployers,andthisisnodifferentin2024.

Rateeachskillbasedontheirimportanceforhiring:

Communication

56%

33%

9%

Problem-solving

50%

38%

8%

Timemanagement

44%

40%

13%

Dataanalysis

34%

36%

21%

7%

Networking

35%

38%

19%

6%

Multilingualism

16%

17%

25%

22%

19%

AIexpertise

22%

24%

24%

17%

14%

NotimportantatallSlightlyimportantModeratelyimportantVeryimportantExtremelyimportant

Financialliteracy

30%

34%

23%

10%

Peoplemanagement

38%

38%

19%

Whenweaskedseniorleaderswhatskillsthey

prioritizewhenhiringrecruits,communicationand

problem-solvingemergedasthemostimportant

answers-with100%ofbusinessesrankingthe

formercharacteristicas“important,”and99%placingthelattertraitinthesamecategory.

Yet,whiletraditionalskillsremainparamount,

oursurveyrevealedthatthere’salwaysroomfor

ne