Who’s afraid of AI? Most employees aren’t

When asked to choose from nine statements—three positive, three negative, and three neutral—that best describe how AI might impact their work, more than half of the nearly 54,000 workers polled in PwC’s 2023 Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey chose at least one positive statement. A third of respondents believe AI will help increase productivity and efficiency, and more than a quarter said it would help them learn valuable new skills. How can leadership teams harness that optimism while still navigating AI’s potential hazards? They should start by engaging their workforce in three critical ways:

1. Set the right tone. The C-suite should create and communicate a strong narrative that covers what the future of work means for the company and its people. Being transparent and purpose-driven regarding plans and decisions can also help employees who are wary of AI, and what it may mean for their jobs, feel more comfortable experimenting with it and even integrating it into their work where appropriate. 
2. Strengthen your employees’ human skills. Double down on helping your people build the soft skills that AI can’t replicate, such as adaptability, collaboration and leadership. These skills can prove especially important for non-specialised workers, who the survey shows are disproportionately more likely to believe that AI will have no impact on their job at all, suggesting they may be less equipped for change than their their specialised counterparts.
3. Enlist your people as solvers. Chances are your employees are already experimenting with AI outside of work, so channel that energy by bringing them into brainstorming sessions to see how AI could improve the work their role or department is tasked with. As the ones who are closest to the day-to-day work, they’ll have valuable insights into where AI might be most effective. And by seeking their input and involving them where possible in decision-making processes, you’ll be making changes with them—not for them—making it more likely that they’ll buy into the changes and advocate for their success among their peers. At the same time, create opportunities for employees to experiment responsibly with AI in their work—with the right guardrails around data access and privacy, copyright protection, and other sensitive areas.