EY survey reveals huge uptick in GenAI adoption at work, correlates with ‘talent health’ and competitive gains

• Workforce GenAI use has surged to 75%, up from 22% in 2023, according to the survey.
• Employee quit intent rising: up 4% year-on-year despite economic uncertainty.
• Rewards gap: employers prioritize health and wellbeing, employees want enhancements around bonus and incentives.

Use of generative AI (GenAI) in the workplace has significantly increased, rising exponentially from 22% in 2023 to 75% today, and with the highest usage attributed to the tech (90%) and lowest to the government and public sectors (60%). This is according to the EY 2024 Work Reimagined Survey, which surveyed 17,350 employees and 1,595 employers across 23 countries and 27 industry sectors across the globe. The survey explores how a reset in the tech landscape and a dynamic talent market may create a unique opportunity for employers to achieve superior business outcomes. 

More than a third of employee respondents record net positive scores in relation to the impact of GenAI usage on improved productivity (37%) and on the ability to focus on high-value work (36%). The survey also finds that GenAI adoption correlates with skill-building proficiency; 58% of employees who use GenAI say their organization’s development and training programs are “Above Average” or “Excellent”.

Kim Billeter, EY Global and EY Americas People Consulting Leader, says:

“The speed of adoption of GenAI has brought important workforce considerations to the forefront, from technology and skills investment to investment to organization’s culture, trust, and retention. It’s a key determinant of how organizations can build strategic talent capabilities, and employers that have been most willing to adopt GenAI could be among the top destinations for the best talent. As this trend evolves, organizations should consider meeting employees where they are with GenAI, tailoring technology adoption to each role and recognizing the significant potential of productivity gains across all levels of the organization."

The survey also reveals the need to ensure consistent generational adoption of tools and skills around GenAI. While nearly a quarter (23%) of all employees surveyed cite extensive use of the technology, the discrepancy between millennials’ usage (27%) and baby boomers’ usage (7%) is stark.

More broadly, the survey indicates that work is increasingly disconnected from old ideas of career and workplaces. It found that while employees may be motivated and willing to promote their employers, they are finding new opportunities for increased total pay (81%), better wellbeing and career (79%), leadership quality (76%) and remote work (75%). Talent health and flow (retention and attraction) is foundational and the survey points to the imperative for employers to measure it to enable aligned strategies for culture, total rewards and learning, in order to achieve key business outcomes.

Quit intent is rising, particularly among Gen Z and millennials

Employees continue to be emboldened by their generational views and options in the labor market, according to the survey. Thirty-eight percent of all employee respondents state they are likely to consider quitting their jobs within the next 12 months, of whom 26% indicate that they wish to remain in their current sector and 25% say they are looking to move into a different sector. This sentiment is particularly strong among millennials, with 40% looking to leave compared to 23% of baby boomers. Gen Z and millennials are 1.8 times more likely to quit than baby boomers, and men are 1.2 times more likely to quit than women.  

Overall, employee quit intent has increased 4% year-on-year, according to the survey, despite economic uncertainty, and 37% say it is likely they will change their primary work locations within the next year.

Roselyn Feinsod, EY Global Work Reimagined Leader, People Consulting, says:

“The global workforce seems to have evolved into one with personalized expectations, increasingly disconnected from one-size-fits-all ideas of career, total rewards and location. Individuals now aspire to move more fluidly between employers to gain new experiences, different skills and flexible working practices, and legacy talent strategies no longer cut it. Talent leads should focus less on how long an employee stays with them and more on their values, the quality of their experience and contribution to the organization.”

Most organizations have not achieved a “Talent Advantage”

The survey points to the imperative for organizations to reach a “Talent Advantage”, measured against five dimensions: “Talent health and flow”, “Work technology and GenAI”; “Total rewards priorities”; “Learning, skills and career pathways”; and “Culture and workplaces”. Organizations with a Talent Advantaged people function are nearly seven times more likely to say productivity has improved significantly in the past two years, and approximately six times more likely to say they are overperforming significantly in the current economic conditions. However, nearly 70% of employer respondents are yet to achieve it.

Billeter says: “The flow of global talent could be channeled if leaders act with purpose to create a Talent Advantage through a more strategic people function. If companies don’t act on this, they risk a range of varying engagement outcomes, including the inability to attract and retain key talent; ineffective tech adoption across the business; and an inability to advance culture with distributed ways of working. Ultimately, organizations that take steps to create a cohesive, positive culture for a diverse and dispersed workforce may avoid these pitfalls and define a future-ready people strategy.”