Survey: 61 percent have passed off AI work as their own
A survey by Salesforce and Yougov asked employees from 14 countries about the opportunities and challenges presented by AI in the workplace, including around 1,000 from Switzerland.
More than a quarter (29%) of employees in Switzerland currently use generative AI in the workplace. This figure is much higher in other countries, for example 36% in the USA, but the global figure is 28%. Of these, around two thirds (65%) of respondents in Switzerland confirm that they are more productive as a result. However, many of them do not use the technology in an official capacity: Just over a third (34 percent) of respondents in Switzerland (globally: 40 percent) have already worked with AI tools explicitly prohibited by their employer.
Increasing career prospects
Regardless of whether they use generative AI in the workplace or not, employees are aware of the impact of the technology on their careers: 40 percent of employees in Switzerland believe that AI skills will increase their career prospects. Almost the same number (44%) believe that these skills will give them greater job satisfaction and 35% expect higher salaries. A full 40 percent of respondents would consider exaggerating their generative AI skills in order to secure a job.
AI guidelines are lacking in the workplace
Despite the opportunities, the challenges surrounding the topic of AI still need to be addressed. Knowledge and information about the new technology is one aspect: The lack of education on the topic of AI is underpinned by further results of the study. Two thirds (66%) of employees have not received any training on the appropriate use of generative AI and just as many (66%) have not received any training on the safe use of AI.
In addition, many companies have not defined clear guidelines for the use of generative AI in the workplace, according to 77% of Swiss employees. For 33 percent, these guidelines are completely absent. But even where there are guidelines, they are not groundbreaking: 41% of respondents state that their employer does not have a clear stance when it comes to the use of AI in everyday working life. A lack of guidelines is also evident in how employees deal with AI results on an individual basis: 61% of survey participants have already passed off AI-generated results as their own - although this is lower than the international average, with 64% of respondents globally confirming this. In Switzerland, this figure is particularly high among respondents from the science and biotechnology sector (86%) and the media and entertainment industry (81%).
