HP Work Relationship Index suggests AI needed to make people happier and more productive in the workplace

HP Inc has released its second HP Work Relationship Index (WRI), and it reckons we’ll all be a whole lot happier if we use AI in the workplace.

Based on feedback from 15,600 employees across 12 countries, its two key findings are that only 28% of knowledge workers have a healthy relationship with work – and that two-thirds want personalised experiences.

“We know employer and employee expectations have evolved and we believe smart technology is key to meeting the needs of today’s workforce,” said Enrique Lores, President and CEO of HP Inc.

“The future of work will be unlocked by using the power of AI to create solutions and experiences that drive business growth and enable individuals to achieve personal and professional fulfillment.”

Some more cynical commenters than I might point out that it’s very fortunate that HP is just about to release a bunch of products with AI built in.

Growth of AI at work

Another key finding from the survey was that AI is taking hold.

“AI usage among knowledge workers surged to 66% in 2024,” HP states, “up from 38% last year; and workers who use AI are 11-points happier with their relationship with work than their colleagues who don’t.”

The WRI leans into this theme with the following bullet points:

• 73% feel that AI makes their jobs easier, and nearly 7-in-10 (69%) are customizing their use of AI to be more productive, indicating AI could be an ingredient to unlocking a more personalized work experience.
• 60% state that AI plays a key role in improving their work-life balance.
• 68% say AI opens up new opportunities for them to enjoy work.
• 73% agree that a better understanding of AI will make it easier to advance their careers. 

I asked Copilot for its unbiased opinion. “Overall,” it told me, “while AI can introduce some stress, it also has the potential to enhance job satisfaction, motivation and productivity, contributing to a happier workplace.”

Bright spot for female leaders

Away from AI, there is good news for female leaders in organisations.

“On average,” HP stated, “female business leaders are +10-points more confident in their hard skills (technical, computer, presentation, etc.), and notably +13-points more confident in human skills than their male counterparts.

“Additionally, female business leaders’ confidence in both skills grew over the past year (+10 points in human skills, +4 points in hard skills), while confidence among male business leaders remained stagnant in human skills and decreased in hard skills (-3 points).”

The WRI data is based on an online survey that covered 15,600 people across 12 countries: the US, France, India, UK, Germany, Spain, Australia, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, and Indonesia.

Of those, 12,000 were knowledge workers (1,000 in each country), 2,400 IT decision makers (200 in each country) and 1,200 business leaders (100 in each country).

More about AI and the future of work:

• Generative AI takes off in business – but don’t call it a bubble
• Gartner: almost a third of generative AI projects will fail soon
• Microsoft survey says we should be using AI for employee retention