One field where employees are more than happy to be replaced by AI
Meetings may be one of the few fields where employees are happy to be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) – and they’re increasingly doing so, even if they’re being called “rude.”
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Meetings may be one of the few fields where employees are happy to be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) – and they’re increasingly doing so, even if they’re being called “rude.”
The “meeting madness” is eroding work-life balance, according to a new survey by Adaptavist, based on 4,000 knowledge workers across the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Canada.
Employees now spend 4.3 hours per week in meetings, nearly as much as they spend socializing with friends, which is 4.4 hours per week.
Some found a creative solution to the meeting overload – they let AI attend instead of them.
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Nearly half (46%) of employees reported being in a meeting where a colleague had enlisted AI assistants to attend in their place, the survey found.
As expected, it doesn’t sit well with colleagues who attend meetings themselves – 40% said they consider such a practice rude.
Employees around the world are frustrated with being drowned in meetings – often unproductive ones – when they could be focusing on their actual tasks.
According to the Atlassian survey, 77% of employees reported frequently attending meetings that end with a decision to schedule a follow-up meeting.
Fear over AI replacing human employees
The advancement and increasing adoption of AI tools are making employees worry about their future.
Over seven in ten (71%) Americans are concerned that AI will be “putting too many people out of work permanently,” according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey published in August.
Fresh graduates may suffer the most – 43% of business leaders expect to replace junior roles or entry-level jobs with AI.
A recent study by the Yale Budget Lab examined the changes in the US occupational mix – a measure indicating the types of jobs that comprise a workforce – following the introduction of ChatGPT in 2022.
The study didn’t find major disruptions in the job market due to the rollout of general AI. While the biggest changes occurred in the information sector, the trends within these industries started before the release of ChatGPT, the study suggests.
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