Chapter 3
AI is changing work faster than organisations can redesign it.
Executives rank technology and automation as the second-biggest reason for changing workforce structure. But adoption is outpacing adaptation.
say AI is reducing headcount in certain roles.
Increasing the use of AI and automation is the change organisations are most likely to have made in the past 24 months, and 78% of those that made it say it has been effective.
But technology adoption is outpacing workforce adaptation, creating a capability gap as AI changes tasks, roles and decision-making. Continuous learning is becoming part of almost every job rather than an event.
AI is more likely to augment worker capabilities than reduce headcount
AI's most significant impacts on the workforce
| Item | Share of executives |
|---|---|
| Reducing manual or repetitive tasks | 47% |
| Improving decision-making | 44% |
| Augmenting employee capabilities | 43% |
| Increasing productivity expectations | 37% |
| Creating new roles or skill needs | 36% |
| Accelerating the need for reskilling | 34% |
| Creating uncertainty or concern | 29% |
| Reducing headcount in certain roles | 28% |
Reducing manual or repetitive tasks is the most significant impact of AI on the workforce at 47%, followed by improving decision-making at 44% and augmenting employee capabilities at 43%. Reducing headcount in certain roles ranks last at 28%.
What the Workforce Adaptability Leaders do differently
The Leaders are more likely than other organisations to be advanced in their AI implementation: 22% report progress ahead of expectations, compared with 14% of the rest.
They're less likely than the rest to say that AI has reduced headcount: only 21% say this has been a top impact.
How the Leaders use AI differently
Workforce Adaptability Leaders compared with everyone else
| Measure | Everyone else | Leaders | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Improving decision-making | 43% | 53% | +10 |
| Reducing manual or repetitive tasks | 46% | 52% | +6 |
| Reducing headcount in certain roles | 29% | 21% | -8 |
Workforce Adaptability Leaders are more likely to use AI to improve decision-making, at 53% against 43%, and less likely to use it to reduce headcount, at 21% against 29%.
Build Capability Continuously
What capability will your organisation struggle most to build over the next three years?
What to do now
- 1
Identify where AI is changing tasks, roles and decision-making, not just where it can reduce costs.
- 2
Redesign workflows around human and AI collaboration instead of adding AI tools to unchanged processes.
- 3
Pair AI adoption with structured upskilling so employees understand how their roles are changing.
- 4
Track whether AI is improving decision quality and employee capability, not only efficiency.