Fujitsu research finds that older generations in the workplace use Generative AI (GenAI) on average more often during a workday compared to their youngest colleagues. The survey – GenAI at Work –questioned 3,700 employees who have various roles across European organizations, with the majority indicating that GenAI is already saving them a lot of time today.
Contrary to expectations, GenAI today appears to be readily adopted by older generations. For example, 20% of 43- to 58-year-olds in the survey say they use the technology multiple times per day on average. Among 18- to 26-year-olds (Gen Z), the number is only 9%. Even those over 59 are about twice as likely to say they leverage GenAI tools multiple times each day. That does not mean that younger generations are not using them: half of Gen Z respondents use GenAI several times a week.
Fujitsu’s report also zooms in on the use of GenAI in different EU countries. In Belgium, 32% of respondents say they resort to GenAI once, twice or several times per day on average. That figure is somewhat in line with our northern neighbors (29%). The most notable outliers are Spain (50%) and Ireland (49%).
Employees embrace and trust GenAI
In addition to differences between various generations, the survey also makes it clear that GenAI is indeed on the rise in the workplace. More than four in five employees in Europe (83%) consider GenAI to be a technology that can support them in their work. That companies really need to commit to such solutions in the war for talent is also evidenced by the fact that some 82% are positive about the possibility of using GenAI.
While training certainly plays an important role in proper use of GenAI, 81% of respondents feel that GenAI tools are intuitive and that they are competent enough to get started with them. Confidence, of course, remains important in convincing employees to work with GenAI. Younger generations in particular find it important that their organization has a strategy that implements the technology in a secure manner.
85% of respondents assume that their company knows how to protect sensitive information. 81% of organizations have a team that keeps their finger on the pulse and monitors GenAI regularly to verify compliance. Three-quarters of participants say they have a policy that shows how corporate data can be used to train and use GenAI. And four in five employees (82%) believe digital workplace applications, such as GenAI, should be personalized based on roles and needs.
GenAI saves employees 4.75 work hours
Productivity gains are a major reason why GenAI is breaking through so quickly in the workplace. Four in five surveyed respondents agree that the technology saves them quite a bit of time. The majority (33%) find that GenAI allows them to spend about one to two hours per week on other tasks. Another 29% even win three to four hours per week. On average, GenAI is saving employees 4.75 work hours per week today. Moreover, those who apply GenAI in the right way automatically get more productive and creative teams.
