Hybrid work, artificial intelligence frees up a day a week

In hybrid work, artificial intelligence frees up time, almost a day a week, to devote to more value-added activities and improves productivity. Not only that, it also strengthens collaboration and dialogue between generations. In a world where technology companies have privileged Btc, business to consumer, end customers when they put on the clothes of workers often find themselves in organisations that are less advanced than they are in private. And they thus become very proactive in the implementation of tools. This is according to a study conducted by International Workplace Group (IWG), the world's largest work platform and flexible workspace provider, on a sample of 2,000 professionals in the US and UK, which found that Generation Z plays a leadership role in driving Ai adoption, training colleagues and improving productivity and collaboration in hybrid work environments. Of Ai's positive influence on collaboration, 69 per cent of workers who work partly remotely and partly in-presence talk about how it is making it easier for them to work in teams across locations, citing better preparation for meetings (46 per cent), better access to shared information (36 per cent) and more effective follow-up (36 per cent) as benefits.

Assuming that 80 per cent of workers have experimented with artificial intelligence tools, today an equivalent proportion, 78 per cent, are also able to estimate how much time they have saved through the use of these tools: an average of around 55 minutes per day, which equates to an extra working day per week. Mark Dixon, founder and CEO of IWG, notes that 'technological advances, particularly in artificial intelligence, are increasing productivity, opening up new career opportunities and connecting different generations of skills. These significant productivity gains enabled by artificial intelligence are helping to create more connected and agile teams, ready for the future of work'. This extra time, workers report, is being allocated to more value-added activities, such as creative or strategic work (41%), learning and professional development (41%), face-to-face collaboration (40%) and networking (35%). A large majority, around 86%, say that artificial intelligence has helped them complete tasks more efficiently, and 76% say it is directly accelerating their professional growth, a percentage that rises to 87% among Generation Z workers.

In the complex organisational transformation underway, intergenerational collaboration has become a central element, with Generation Z playing a specific role. Almost two-thirds (59%) of the employees of this generation are in fact actively helping their colleagues with more years of service to adopt artificial intelligence tools. Eighty per cent of senior directors say this support allows them to focus on higher value-added activities, while 82% say the Ai-related innovations they have introduced have opened up new business opportunities. Overall, 86% of respondents say artificial intelligence has made them more efficient and 76% believe it is helping their careers, a percentage that rises to 87% among Generation Z respondents.

Workers are harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence to eliminate particularly time-consuming administrative tasks. The most common areas in which employees want to take advantage of Ai include writing emails (43%), drafting and summarising meeting notes (42%), organising files (36%) and entering data or filling out forms (36%). With the automation of these activities, employees are redirecting time to work: 55 per cent are now focusing on high-impact projects, 54 per cent are investing in professional development and 40 per cent are using the time to build stronger relationships with colleagues and customers or to invest in their personal well-being.

In the hybrid work model, artificial intelligence is also redefining the way time is spent in the office. Indeed, the automation of routine tasks is enabling workers to prioritise strategic thinking (41%), learning and professional development (41%), face-to-face collaboration (40%) and networking (35%) on their in-person days. More than half of workers (53%) say that artificial intelligence is helping them to perform better and 64% believe it is making hybrid working more fluid and effective.