Even though workers are excited to go back to the office full-time, the current workspaces do not encourage teamwork and creativity.
This is one of the main things that Cisco learned from polling 14,050 employees and 3,800 employers in 19 countries. They wanted to know how the in-office experience compared to what employees expected around the world and how employers are investing in AI as a way to make the workplace more collaborative and productive.
They found that even though 72% of those who answered were looking forward to going back to work, only 47% thought their workplaces were ready for the new age of hybrid work. This means that more companies around the world (81%) have already changed or plan to change the way their workspaces look in the next 24 months. These changes will not just be physical.
The poll also showed that businesses know how useful AI can be for making them more productive, with more and more companies committing to using AI at work. 73% of the employers who answered the poll want to buy collaboration software that is powered by AI, and 68% want to use AI to improve their workspaces by 2025.
On the other hand, by the end of 2025, 80% of companies plan to spend money on AI for workspaces and teamwork. As a result, many businesses now know how to speed up the use of AI in the workplace to boost output and make the office ready for the future.
Lastly, the poll made it clear that we need to fill the AI skills gap. Even though 43% of employees may have access to AI technologies, less than half of them don’t think they’re very good at using them. In fact, one in four employees doesn’t think they’re ready to use AI.
