The COVID-19 pandemic spurred a surge in remote work, leading organisations to embrace new technologies driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to transform the workplace. Additionally, with the rapid pace of tech transformations led by tech giants like Google, Meta, and Microsoft, Middle Eastern organisations are competing fiercely in this innovative marketplace. AI tech is becoming increasingly evident in workplaces and embedded within popular social media platforms like LinkedIn and Meta. Unlike previous technological changes in the workplace, AI represents a new and largely uncharted territory. Few fully understand how its implementation will impact the future of work, humanity, and employees.

Few topics divide professionals more than the use of AI in the workplace. The conversation around AI is ever-present—you hear about it at work, at home, in the news, and on social platforms. While AI might boost productivity, growing scepticism persists. Are we genuinely accomplishing more, or are we becoming overly reliant on technology to the point where we can no longer complete tasks independently? More importantly, are our hard-earned skills deteriorating due to excessive AI reliance?

This ongoing debate raises crucial questions: Is AI causing skill atrophy? Is AI making your employees lazy? While AI can boost productivity, it's essential to explore how to use it effectively without diminishing employees' capabilities.

Is AI deteriorating skills?

AI has started taking over certain workplace tasks from employees, raising concerns among professionals about its impact on creativity and skill improvement. Specifically, marketing departments have been seriously affected by this trend. Employees in marketing jobs need extensive knowledge of their customer base and creativity for effective campaigns. About 31 per cent of employees that are marketers worry that increased AI reliance will make them lazy, as it removes the human touch from their work.

People who doubt and criticise AI often equate laziness with complacency and a lack of critical thinking. They fear that reduced task ownership will decrease motivation and the ability to engage in deep, decision-making work, as AI provides ready-made ideas and solutions. A study found that 63 per cent of operations employees doubt AI will improve productivity, with some believing it may even reduce it. These workers worry that AI handling repetitive tasks and decisions will lead to laziness and incomplete role knowledge.

However, many studies indicate that these fears may be overstated and exaggerated, stressing that if people can use AI tools properly, there wouldn't be room to entertain fear.

AI enhances productivity among employees in the workplace

According to three case studies conducted by the Nielsen Norman Group, generative AI tools boosted employee productivity by an average of 66 per cent. This is clear evidence that AI increases workplace productivity among employees. Productivity measures outputs produced per input.

For instance, a content writer’s productivity might be gauged by how many articles they write per day. If AI helps them complete more articles per day, they become more efficient and productive to their employers.

For salespeople, AI reduces time spent on administrative tasks like logging notes in CRM, following up with prospects, and sending emails. This allows them to focus on their core skills, such as active listening during conversations and conducting rapid research to understand prospects’ needs before calls. Before now, drafting 5 job vacancy adverts by HR leaders in a day required brainstorming and critical thinking. With AI, the same employee can now produce 20 job adverts in the same time frame. Despite some sceptics calling this laziness, the employee still performs the work, with AI enhancing their efficiency.

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Be more productive with AI

It's the name you gave to your dog, that it will bear. View AI as a partner that enhances employee labour and thought processes. Focus on the benefits of humans and technology working together.

#1 Streamlining tasks through automation and delegation: Employees handle repetitive daily tasks that consume time better spent on rewarding projects. AI can automate these tasks, allowing you to focus on those that contribute more to your goals. For instance, AI can automate top-of-funnel prospecting activities for sales representatives. Generative AI can manage monotonous tasks like lead list building and message creation, freeing up SDRs and reps to focus on higher-value activities like phone calls and social messages.

#2 Effective teamwork and communication: Generative AI platforms won't make salespeople worse at communicating without tools. In reality, AI enhances human interaction rather than replacing it. For example, AI helps maintain an organised inbox by prioritising messages. Social media managers can then spend less time managing emails and more time on high-value tasks like closing deals or nurturing leads.

Additionally, AI integrates chatbots into support systems, providing immediate responses to customer queries. This allows salespeople to focus on more complex issues, improving their expertise and skill set. AI analyses conversations to suggest tasks or actions, increasing efficiency.

Is AI making employees lazy?

AI unquestionably reduces the necessity for performing repetitive daily tasks. Despite concerns from AI sceptics about fostering human laziness, we see AI as driving increased productivity and substantial business growth. By relieving humans from monotonous responsibilities, AI enables them to focus on more intricate tasks that demand critical thinking, knowledge, and creativity.

As Dr Ben Hamer emphasised, "Rather than fearing AI will make us lazy or obsolete, we should use it to handle 80 per cent of tasks, leaving the remaining 20 per cent to our problem-solving and judgment. Like calculators in accounting, AI can free us from mundane tasks, allowing us to focus on meaningful work and add greater value to our jobs. The focus should be on educating people on how to effectively use AI."