ETHICAL USE OF AI

Boston Consulting Group | GenAI Doesn’t Just Increase Productivity. It Expands Capabilities

This article discusses how generative AI enhances productivity by automating repetitive tasks and expanding workers' capabilities. It explains that AI enables employees to take on new tasks and roles without requiring prior expertise. This shift allows organisations to boost efficiency and achieve better outcomes through blending creativity and AI-driven innovation.

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Introduction

Generative AI (GenAI) rapidly enhances productivity, enabling employees to perform tasks that once required specialised skills. This shift is significantly impacting organisational talent strategies and workforce development.

Key Insights

• 66% of employees using GenAI reported improved performance in tasks such as data analysis, with non-coders completing complex tasks after minimal training.

• 59% noted faster task completion, with those having coding knowledge benefiting the most.

• GenAI’s adoption prompts 48% of companies to revamp learning and development models, emphasising AI-driven upskilling.

Recommendations

• Implement GenAI training for all employees: Provide targeted training to empower non-technical workers to handle advanced tasks, helping them leverage AI’s capabilities for productivity.

• Refocus hiring on adaptability: Emphasise problem-solving and basic technical skills over expertise. With GenAI, employees can achieve significant efficiency gains with minimal prior knowledge.

• Update workforce development plans: Incorporate AI into training programs to foster continuous learning and ensure employees can handle creative and technical challenges.

Conclusion

By integrating GenAI, companies can boost productivity and redefine employee roles, allowing for greater flexibility. Organisations that invest in AI training and adapt talent strategies will be better positioned for long-term success.

FUTURE OF JOBS

World Economic Forum | Unlocking Opportunity: A Global Framework for Enabling Transitions to the Jobs of Tomorrow | The World Economic Forum's report Unlocking Opportunity: Job Transitions in 2024 explores the critical need for reskilling and upskilling as industries evolve. It highlights how job transitions are crucial to unlocking economic opportunities, providing actionable insights for businesses and policymakers to foster a more resilient, adaptable global workforce.

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Introduction

Global labour markets undergo rapid transformations due to automation, digitalisation, and shifting economic conditions. By 2027, 23% of current jobs will change, with 69 million new roles created and 83 million displaced globally. This necessitates strategic job transitions to maintain employment, foster economic productivity, and ensure workforce resilience.

Key Insights

• Reskilling and Upskilling are Critical: The need for reskilling is urgent. This is essential to facilitate job transitions, especially into growing fields like digital, ICT, and healthcare roles. For example, AI and machine learning specialists and sustainability specialists are among the fastest-growing jobs, while roles such as cashiers and postal workers are declining.

• Regional Job Transition Trends: The analysis, based on data from 14 economies, identifies common trends based on data from 14 economies across seven regions that are seeing significant transitions globally, along with healthcare and business services positions. In India, transitions from manufacturing technicians to software developers are prominent, while in Brazil, there’s growth in transitions into sales and administrative roles, reflecting regional labour market shifts.

• Multi-stakeholder Collaboration and Worker Safety Nets: Effective job transitions require collaboration between governments, businesses, and educators. Public-private partnerships and social safety nets, like unemployment insurance and portable benefits, support workers’ economic changes.

Recommendations

• Implement Continuous Learning Initiatives: Organisations should foster a culture of lifelong learning and adaptability. This could involve regular upskilling programs and partnerships with educational institutions. Governments can support these efforts with incentives like tax credits or grants linked to workforce development programs.

• Promote Flexible Employment Models: Encourage flexibility in work arrangements such as remote work or temporary contracts, which can help broaden talent pools and accommodate diverse workforce needs. By 2030, an estimated 92 million jobs could be fully remote, offering new opportunities for job transitions.

• Develop Regional Job Transition Frameworks: Tailor job transition programs to specific regional needs. For example, in regions like East Asia, where healthcare roles are growing due to ageing populations, reskilling programs should target transitioning workers from adjacent sectors, such as patient transportation, into nursing roles.

• Strengthen Worker Safety Nets: Governments and businesses must collaborate to enhance social protection for workers during transitions. This includes unemployment benefits, severance support, and access to health insurance, ensuring that displaced workers can maintain a stable standard of living while reskilling.

Conclusion

By embracing strategic job transitions, economies can align labour supply with the demand for high-growth roles, reduce unemployment, and foster economic inclusion. Implementing proactive policies for reskilling, flexible employment, and multistakeholder collaboration will create resilient and adaptable workforces.

HEALTH, WELL-BEING, & PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY

Harvard Business Review | 5 Ways to Deal with the Microstresses Draining Your Energy | The article from HBR outlines five strategies for managing microstresses that sap energy and productivity. These include recognising hidden stressors, addressing the underlying causes of stress, adjusting personal expectations, fostering supportive relationships, and setting boundaries to maintain emotional well-being.

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Introduction

Microstresses—small, seemingly manageable pressures from daily interactions—can have a cumulative impact, draining energy and reducing well-being. Research shows that while each microstress may seem trivial, the combined effect can severely affect personal and professional life.

Key Insights

• Three types of microstresses: The article categorises microstresses into three groups: those that reduce one's capacity to get things done, those that drain emotional reserves, and those that challenge one's identity (such as being forced to pursue goals misaligned with personal values). These microstresses compound over time and lead to burnout and emotional fatigue.

• Relationships as primary sources: The article highlights that many microstresses come from close relationships—family, friends, and colleagues. Emotional burdens from these interactions can linger. Over 60% of individuals identified draining personal relationships as a top contributor to their daily stress​.

• Positive effects of addressing microstresses: A study in Fortune 100 companies found that by taking intentional steps to tackle microstress, such as addressing one source each week, 80% of participants experienced improved emotional well-being and reduced daily stress​.

Recommendations

• Address one microstress at a time: Each week, identify a specific microstress—a recurring interaction with a colleague or an emotionally draining family situation—and take deliberate actions to reduce its impact. This method helps build confidence and a sense of control over daily stressors.

• Reshape complex relationships: Instead of cutting ties with people who contribute to microstress, adjust how you interact with them. By setting boundaries or altering communication dynamics, you can limit these relationships' emotional toll without severing them.

• Be mindful of the stress you cause: Evaluate your actions to see if you might be contributing to others' microstresses. Improving how you interact with others can reduce their stress and prevent negative repercussions that might add to your own.

Conclusion

Addressing microstress is essential for protecting long-term well-being and productivity. By taking small, consistent actions—like focusing on one stressor at a time and reshaping fundamental interactions—individuals can mitigate the cumulative effects of these hidden pressures and reclaim energy for more meaningful tasks​.

WORKPLACE CULTURE & ENGAGEMENT

Gallup & WorkHuman | The Human-Centered Workplace: Building Organizational Cultures That Thrive | The Gallup-Workhuman’s report Human-Centered Workplace emphasises the role of strategic recognition, feedback, and employee well-being in building resilient, agile organisations. It highlights the importance of recognising employees' contributions and promoting upskilling, leading to better retention, engagement, and overall workplace culture.

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Introduction

The report explores how organisations can build more agile and resilient cultures through a human-centred approach. It highlights the importance of strategic recognition, feedback, and well-being in creating workplaces where employees thrive, thus driving business success. The findings emphasise that, despite growing awareness of these practices, most organisations still need more room to improve their implementation.

Key Insights

1. Employee Recognition and Retention:

   • 51% of U.S. employees are actively seeking new jobs as of May 2024, yet research shows that high-quality recognition can reduce turnover.

   • Employees who receive recognition for fulfilling at least four of five strategic pillars are 45% less likely to leave after two years. These pillars include recognition that is fulfilling, authentic, personalised, equitable, and embedded in company culture.

2. Feedback and Engagement:

   • Only 25% of employees strongly agree that they receive valuable feedback. Meaningful feedback increases engagement and productivity, but 46% do not receive feedback often enough. Pairing feedback with recognition can significantly improve employee experiences and strengthen workplace culture.

3. Employee Wellbeing:

   • Emotional well-being remains low, with 49% of U.S. employees reporting stress daily. Strategic recognition significantly improves positive emotions and social connectedness, especially when fulfilling multiple pillars. Employees who receive recognition that meets at least four pillars are 66% less likely to experience loneliness.

4. Upskilling and Technological Change:

   • As AI transforms workplaces, 47% of organisations integrating AI offer no formal training. This leaves employees feeling unprepared, with only 6% feeling comfortable using AI in their roles. The report highlights a significant gap between leadership expectations and employee readiness for technological advancements, underscoring the need for more upskilling initiatives.

Recommendations

1. Implement Strategic Recognition Programs:

   • Ensure recognition goes beyond quantity to fulfil the five pillars (fulfilling, authentic, personalised, equitable, and embedded in culture). Start by surveying employees on their preferences for recognition and tailor programs accordingly.

   • Actionable Tip: Encourage managers to ask employees how they like to be recognised to boost personalisation. Recognition tied to individual accomplishments and preferences can increase engagement by 9 times.

2. Enhance Feedback Practices:

   • Provide frequent, future-oriented feedback and combine it with recognition to create a balanced culture of growth. Encourage peer-to-peer feedback to enhance team dynamics and reduce employee burnout by up to 57%.

   • Actionable Tip: Equip managers with tools to deliver high-quality feedback consistently. Small, timely feedback moments can significantly boost engagement.

3. Support Wellbeing Through Recognition:

   • Leverage recognition as a tool to foster emotional well-being. Ensure that recognition is linked to non-work-related factors such as personal attributes or contributions to team morale, which can increase engagement by 67%.

   • Actionable Tip: Promote regular, genuine recognition to alleviate stress and loneliness and make it part of daily operations.

4. Prioritize Upskilling for AI Integration:

   • Address the growing skills gap by offering structured training opportunities for employees at all levels. Use recognition to motivate learning, as employees who feel encouraged to upskill are 4.2 times more likely to be engaged and less likely to leave.

   • Actionable Tip: Recognise employees who learn new skills to embed a learning culture. Employees recognised for upskilling are 75% more likely to continue developing new skills.

Conclusion

Organizations that prioritize human-centered strategies—like strategic recognition, meaningful feedback, and continuous learning—are better positioned to succeed in an evolving workplace. These practices not only improve employee retention and well-being but also build cultures of innovation and resilience that will drive long-term business success.

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