Source : Perth Now news
The chasm between generations is widening even further as younger Australian workers and their bosses take radically different perspectives on using AI in the workplace – but there’s a twist.
New data from Breakpoint found almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of senior managers relied on AI every week as part of their jobs.
Of those senior workers, 83 per cent said using AI saved them time, and 68 per cent said the technology “improves the quality of their work”.
In contrast, only 37 per cent of junior and entry-level staff said they used AI to supplement their jobs.
The study also found that only 46 per cent of the junior staff said AI was saving them time and 32 per cent said it made their work higher quality.
Older workers embrace AI boom in the workplace
It’s a divide that is growing rapidly, Breakpoint founder Ian Walkins explained.
“We have a new reality where junior workers are walking into meetings and their boss has already used AI to triage their emails, summarise the news, draft talking points, prepare slides and review proposals before the meeting even begins,” he said.
Generally speaking, younger generations adopt new technology at a faster rate than their older counterparts.
However, new data from news.com.au suggested Millennials were adopting the new tech at a faster rate than any other generation – including Gen Z.
Business coach Tash Callewaert, 51, told NewsWire she embraced AI platforms like ChatGPT and Claude for “creativity” and “pressure-testing my executive thinking”.
She found that her younger colleagues had not adopted the tech as much in their everyday tasks.
“I use AI regularly across my work, often more than many younger people I work with,” she said.
“The value is not simply in using AI; it is in knowing what to ask, what to challenge and what not to outsource.”
AI is one of the tools NSW-based e-commerce business founder and chief executive David Caruso uses for his business.
He currently uses AI for drafting, analysing data and delivering decisions, claiming his day has been freed up to work on other projects in the business – he’s even starting using it in his marketing, inventory and support.
“Has it made me more productive? Genuinely, yes, though I’d be lying if I gave you a clean number this early,” he told NewsWire.
“It’s definitely changed how much I get through in a day more than it’s changed how many hours I work.”
But it doesn’t always get things right, he confessed.
“The honest caveat: it’s new enough that I’m still finding where it breaks, not just where it helps,” he said.
Mr Caruso told NewsWire he used AI at the office “more than anyone else at my company, including the youngest person on the team”.
“So much for the idea that it’s a young person’s tool,” he said.
Gen Z worry about job security amid AI boom
The rate of AI adoption in offices has exploded in popularity, with 40 per cent of responders saying they use it in clerical and administrative tasks.
The Breakpoint data found that while 53 per cent of senior managers said AI was a “positive force” for their career, only 20 per cent of entry-level workers said the same.
In fact, 26 per cent of the younger employees said their job security was lowered because of AI, compared to only seven per cent of senior staff.
One Gen Z woman, who lives in regional NSW and works as a junior employee in healthcare and social assistance, said the tech has barely affected her role.
“I don’t feel that AI is having any real impact on my work or career,” she said.
The trepidation of adopting AI among the younger cohort might have a negative impact on their career growth, Mr Walkins said.
“This doesn’t mean every junior worker needs to become an AI expert overnight,” he told NewsWire.
“But it means being able to speak in the same language as your boss.
AI not entirely rejected by Gen Z
However, not every young worker is rejecting AI altogether.
Sydney resident, Ammaleah, 22, is one of the Gen Z workers who are embracing AI in the office.
Working in an agency, she often finds herself turning to the business’ custom-built AI platform to help explain a brief to a client.
“If I’m trying to have a difficult conversation with a client, it can help me digest my thoughts in a way that’s going to come across effectively with the client,” she told NewsWire.
“When our creatives are mocking ideas to send to clients, we can use AI as a visual tool for them to see how the campaign will look once it’s through full production.”
In her field, she found younger workers were embracing AI at a more rapid rate than her older colleagues.
“I think there are some people, especially the older generation, that may not feel as comfortable using it and instead just using their own normal brain power,” she said.
She explained that in her industry, there was an overwhelming fear of being left behind if professionals did not brush up on their AI knowledge.
“If we’re not amongst the knowledge of what people are using consistently now, we’re going to be unsure in years to come,” she said.
