AI leaves many feeling switched off
admits they are not performing at their best as a consequence of that perception of disengagement, then other more immediate matters – for example the old chestnut of our national productivity – must move up the agenda of ‘solutions to be found soon’.
To be precise, 36% of UK workers say their current work is ‘not meaningful’, that’s up from a European 10-nation average of 18%. Almost half of UK workers are already feeling the impact of automation. Apparently twice as many workers aged over 54 are interested in freelancing as those aged under 35.
I’m not surprised at the latter figure. If you’ve never freelanced, or employed yourself, you’ll likely be missing the bit about being open all hours, dealing with the accounts/tax/vat, finding a steady stream of new and repeat business and ensuring a reasonable customer spread.
All of these go with having your own name above the door. There can be appeal, certainly in the good times, though success and fulfilment will depend on sector and the buoyancy of the economy at a point in time.
No matter how unrealistically rosy the freelancing prospect may be, the report does again underline a lack of visible long-term stability in many UK workplaces and an irritation with corporate politics, particularly for those in the autumn of a career.
As to the performance quotient, a 27% of our all-age national sample say they are not performing to their best at work, rising to 34% of those aged 25 to 34. The first statistic faces a European all-age average of 21 per cent who say they are not performing at their best.
The majority of workers in the UK say that they need to learn new skills in order to do their job effectively. When asked which skills they need to develop to remain employable, advanced IT was cited as the top choice, with 61% of workers selecting this, followed by technical knowledge (57%).
Further down the career development shopping list, 35% say problem solving skills would be needed and 31% effectively stated teamwork lessons would be useful. Not sure about the last one, as personalities play a part.
If you read between the lines, surely the work to create the higher value jobs pool the UK seeks to further develop will move far too slowly against key advanced industrial competitors – like Germany, France and Italy - to guarantee our top seat at the table of peers.
Anne-marie Malley, UK Human Capital Leader at Deloitte, appears to agree. “For the UK to remain a globally competitive economy, more must be done to address productivity in our workplaces and the ever-widening skills gap,” she notes.
“Businesses are facing an uphill struggle to address these factors which is leading to dissatisfaction, disengagement and despondency among employees.
“Employers must offer more support to strengthen their worker’s skills and communicate the value their roles are bringing to their company, the economy and society as a whole.”
This research highlights that almost half of UK workers are already feeling the impact of automation. Statistically it’s a little short; 44% of workers in the survey say that some of the tasks they did five years ago have been automated and are now done by robots or software. Nevertheless, that figure is up on a European average of 38% of workers.
Of significance is the 34% in the UK who say that entire business processes relevant to their job have been automated over the past five years, 4% more than the European sample average.
Malley adds an odd contradiction in terms. “It’s striking that the vast majority of workers do not expect to see any significant changes in their jobs over the next decade,” she says.
“The reality is that automation is already impacting day-today roles. Awareness will provoke action, so it’s important for businesses to educate workers on how their roles will be augmented by technology over the next decade.”
Experts tell us even latest generation artificial intelligence (AI) will need people for the so-called end to end efficient process.
Without complementary skills training by employers, perhaps it will be the Ai-powered robots that won’t be fully engaged.