Artificial intelligence saves workers an average of one hour each day globally, enabling them to devote time to other priorities such as creative work, according to Adecco Group’s 2024 Global Workforce of the Future survey released Oct. 17. 

While one-fifth of workers reported saving as much as two hours daily, 5% said the technology saves them between three and four hours daily.

Time savings were consistent across sectors, the survey found. Workers in the energy, utilities and clean technology sectors reported the highest average time savings at 75 minutes per day. Tech workers saved 66 minutes, manufacturing workers saved 62 minutes and financial services workers saved 57 minutes.

Conversely, those in aerospace and defense witnessed the lowest time savings, with an average of 52 minutes per day.

“There has been a huge amount of speculation about how AI is changing the world of work, which is why it is tremendously exciting to see these first potential signs of efficiency improvements,” said Adecco Group CEO Denis Machuel in a press release. “The time saved by workers seems to have been put to good use and is not just confined to one or two sectors but appears widespread across industries. These are early days, but AI appears to be delivering on its promise.”

Workers reported using their saved time for various tasks, including:

• Doing creative work, 28%
• Improving better work/life balance, 27%
• Spending time on strategic thinking, 26%
• Spending time on personal activities, 21%

On the flip side, 23% of workers said they devoted the same amount of time to work tasks, despite the time savings.

Other trends observed include:

• While 13% of workers reported losing jobs due to AI, 40% expressed concerns about long-term job security. However, 83% said they plan to stay with their current employer, the highest retention rate in three years. 

• More than half of workers surveyed, 51%, believe AI skills expanded their job opportunities, while 46% agree that AI has given them more opportunities to learn skills and progress.

• Only 11% of workers are considered future-ready, a group defined as individuals who stand out for their adaptability, willingness to be flexible with career plans and proactive approach to acquiring new skills. Within this group, 93% received personalized development plans, compared to 51% of the broader workforce. 

• 76% of workers believe companies should prioritize training existing employees for different roles within the organization before hiring externally, an increase of 12 percentage points since 2023. However, only 9% plan to stay with their company to be reskilled, a 7-point drop since 2023.

• Burnout affected 40% of the workers in the past 12 months, with the figure rising to 62% among those concerned about AI’s impact.

• While 46% of workers expressed confidence in their leaders’ AI skills and knowledge, 76% valued the human expertise of recruiters, up from 64% last year.

The survey includes responses from 35,000 workers across 27 countries and 20 industries.