Latest news with #WorkTrendIndex
Channel Post MEA
02-05-2025
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
Microsoft Reimagines the Workforce Amid the Rise of Frontier Firms
Microsoft's fifth annual Work Trend Index (WTI) Report uncovers the emergence of a new kind of enterprise: the Frontier Firm. These businesses operate with intelligence on demand, leveraging hybrid human-agent teams to maximize efficiency and innovation. Conducted in partnership with LinkedIn, the report, titled ' 2025: The Year the Frontier Firm Is Born ', examines insights from 31,000 professionals across 31 countries, alongside LinkedIn Economic Graph data and trillions of aggregated signals from e-mails, meetings, and chats within Microsoft 365. The report found that AI has fundamentally altered the equation of workforce capacity. Intelligence is no longer restricted by headcount or expertise, and is now abundant, affordable, and scalable. As economic pressures mount, organizations must harness AI's potential to bridge the widening capacity gap between business demands and human limitations. Business leaders are increasingly turning to digital labor to enhance workforce capabilities, with 82% expecting to leverage AI-driven solutions within the next 12 to 18 months. Meanwhile, 53% of leaders say productivity must improve, yet 80% of employees and executives report lacking the time and energy to meet rising expectations. Workplace interruptions also remain a critical issue, as employees face disruptions ranging from e-mails and meetings to chats, making it harder to focus and deliver meaningful output. The report also noted that businesses are shifting from traditional hierarchical structures to more dynamic, outcome-driven work charts, where human-agent teams collaborate fluidly to achieve results at scale. This trend is evident as 46% of leaders indicate their organizations are fully automating workflows with AI agents, particularly in customer service, marketing, and product development. As human-agent teams become the norm, organizations must determine the optimal balance between automation and human oversight. Leaders are beginning to assess their human-agent ratio, asking critical questions about when AI outperforms traditional methods, when customers prefer human interaction, and when decision-making requires accountability and human judgment. Lastly, this year's edition of the report spotlighted how more professionals are embracing AI agents as part of their roles, shifting towards a model where employees become agent bosses – individuals who build, delegate to, and manage AI tools to enhance productivity. Leaders anticipate that within five years, teams will be regularly training and managing AI agents as part of their responsibilities. However, a gap in AI adoption remains, as 67% of leaders report familiarity with AI agents, compared to only 40% of employees. Furthermore, 79% of leaders believe AI will accelerate their careers, yet only 67% of employees share that optimism, highlighting an urgent need for AI education and upskilling. Zubin Chagpar, Senior Director and Business Group Leader for Modern Work & Surface Devices at Microsoft CEMA, emphasized the shift underway, saying: 'The findings of this year's Work Trend Index make it clear that businesses must rethink how they harness AI to unlock their full potential. The rise of Frontier Firms demonstrates that leaders who strategically integrate AI-driven intelligence and empower human-agent teams will stay ahead in today's competitive landscape.' To explore the full findings of Microsoft's fifth annual Work Trend Index Report, click here . 0 0
Independent Singapore
01-05-2025
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Rise of the robot colleague: Why workers are choosing AI over each other
Freepik/ (for illustration purposes only) INTERNATIONAL: Today's workplaces have significantly changed — more and more workers are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for ideas and emotional support instead of their human officemates, and this trend has rewritten the rules of workplace culture. According to Microsoft's latest Work Trend Index report , published by HRD Asia , an increasing number of professionals see AI as a collaborative partner and not a mechanical tool, a 'different kind of team member.' AI becomes the ultimate brainstorm buddy Approximately half (46%) of employees now see AI as a dependable and consistent 'thought partner' — a source of productive ideas, a brainstorm buddy, that can spur creativity, challenge their cognitive abilities, and test their perceptions. Instead of only banking on human colleagues, countless workers have opted for AI for its exceptional gains. Employees said they turn to AI because it's at all times accessible (42%), provides rapid responses and superior results (30%), and delivers a continuous stream of novel concepts (28%). More than these advantages, AI doesn't get tired as it has unlimited capacity (23%). In short, AI is prepared and equipped to work at any time of the day. Dodging drama: Why some avoid human help For many workers, the move towards AI is not merely about acquiring competence or achieving productivity — it is also about dodging the uneasiness of working with colleagues, especially those who have attitude problems. Respondents to the survey mentioned anxiety over judgment (17%), personal tensions (16%), and highly demanding colleagues (15%) as motives why they chose AI. A minor group (8%) even said they try to sidestep alliances or teamwork tasks because co-workers tend to claim too much credit for things they didn't even exert effort on. 'It's a mindset shift,' said Conor Grennan, chief AI architect at NYU Stern School of Business. 'We've been trained to see technology as a tool, but AI is something different — it's like a new teammate.' From HR to IR: The next evolution in the workplace As AI becomes a vital player in everyday work, businesses are starting to reconsider how teams should work. The report proposes that all workers will have to build capabilities around communicating well with AI, such as creating improved prompts, filtering AI-produced replies, and detecting flawed reasoning. Specialists even forecast the development and rise of a completely new division to accomplish this trend. 'Just as HR and IT became foundational functions, we'll likely see the rise of Intelligence Resources departments,' said Harvard's Karim Lakhani. These divisions will aid in overseeing how humans and AI intermingle and collaborate, eventually becoming a key driver of competitive advantage in AI-first establishments.
SBS Australia
01-05-2025
- SBS Australia
'AI agents' to the rescue: How to work in a world with a distraction every two minutes
Microsoft's annual Work Trend Index shows nearly 47 per cent of Australian bosses are asking their employees to do more. Source: AAP / Bianca De Marchi For Farid (not his real name), every notification that flashes on his screen while he's at work reinforces an "extreme stress". "[The notifications] were very annoying ... When I tried to focus on my task, they broke my focus and I had to jump to another task, even if it was just reading the first sentence of the notifications," he said. "Being distracted is not a good reason to give to your manager ... So I always try my best to finish my work, even if that sometimes means staying [on] after hours." That is why the IT engineer has chosen to disable notifications on his work device. Farid is among tens of thousands of Australian workers who have similar experiences every day. According to Microsoft's annual Work Trend Index, during a typical 9-to-5 workday, employees are interrupted every two minutes by "meetings, emails, or pings", averaging 275 interruptions a day. The recent report is based on data from 31,000 workers across 31 countries, including 1,000 from Australia. Herman Tse, professor of Leadership and Organisational Behaviour at Monash University, said: "constant emails, instant messengers, meetings, and live streams" are the main sources of distraction. "They're constantly bombarded by these kinds of instant demands from different sources: boss, peers, subordinates, requests and everything," he told SBS News. "Constant disruptions or distractions [will] reduce our cognitive attention ... The more these kinds of situations happen, the less likely we are to concentrate deeply on our work." The Microsoft report shows that in Australia, nearly half (47 per cent) of bosses are asking employees to do more, while almost 80 per cent of employees say they lack "the time or energy to keep up". This is what Microsoft's head of modern work, Lucy Debono, describes as a "capacity gap". "Essentially, we're not running out of work to do, but potentially we're running out of human capacity to do it," she told SBS News. There are several traditional solutions to help workers stay focused and deal with the 'capacity gap'. Tse suggests that office workers "don't attend redundant meetings" all the time, and could shift from "time management to attention management". "Try to block 90 minutes every morning, maybe from 9am to 10.30am — this is what we call the focus time. During this window, turn off the notifications of any digital devices and delegate the routine. "Without a clear structure of what I call a compass, an internal compass to focus on attention rather than only on time management, people will feel more fatigued." However, the modern-day workplace has access to new techniques to handle work distractions and improve efficiency. Enter artificial intelligence (AI). These methods are used in "frontier firms," companies that work based on human and AI teams. "AI can help to bridge this capacity gap," Debono said. "Turning to AI as that thought partner, like you would talk to a colleague, a friend, a teammate, that's where you start to get the real sort of value and return from an interaction. "Asking an AI [agent] to help organise your day, to summarise your emails, to prioritise your tasks, really helps you to stay much more focused on what you need to deliver and not to get distracted." The Microsoft research shows that 40 per cent of employees in Australia use AI as a thought partner, which is 12 per cent less than the average in Asia-Pacific countries. According to Microsoft, AI agents are an AI-powered system that can reason, plan and act to complete tasks or entire workflows autonomously, with human oversight at key moments. The Work Trend Index report predicts that in future, we will "see the rise of the agent boss — someone who builds, delegates to, and manages [AI] agents to amplify their impact". Debono said: "The research tells us that many leaders today see agents as a means to address the issue and help reduce the level of distraction in various ways. "What we see from this research is where human and agent teams come together, that's where we're going to have the most impact, the highest efficiency and human skills." The Microsoft report also shows that 40 per cent of business leaders report they are already using AI agents to fully automate their workstreams. Seventy-five per cent say they will use these agents in the next 12 to 18 months. However, a significant number of people say they don't trust using AI. A 2023 study by the University of Queensland found that only 34 per cent of Australians are willing to trust AI. "[Australian companies] are not [at] that forefront right now ... They're still concerned about whether they should trust AI [and] whether [it] will expose their information and will put them into danger," Tse said. "They still have a strong, what we call, psychosocial risk. That means wherever they rely more on AI, they show their employees that the human value of a job becomes less important. "They'd be afraid that they were more likely to be replaced by AI sooner rather than later."
Tahawul Tech
30-04-2025
- Business
- Tahawul Tech
Microsoft Report reveals the rise of the Frontier Firm
As organisations worldwide navigate the next wave of workplace transformation, Microsoft's fifth annual Work Trend Index (WTI) Report uncovers the emergence of a new kind of enterprise: the Frontier Firm. These businesses operate with intelligence on demand, leveraging hybrid human-agent teams to maximize efficiency and innovation. Conducted in partnership with LinkedIn, the report, titled '2025: The Year the Frontier Firm Is Born', examines insights from 31,000 professionals across 31 countries, alongside LinkedIn Economic Graph data and trillions of aggregated signals from e-mails, meetings, and chats within Microsoft 365. The report found that AI has fundamentally altered the equation of workforce capacity. Intelligence is no longer restricted by headcount or expertise, and is now abundant, affordable, and scalable. As economic pressures mount, organisations must harness AI's potential to bridge the widening capacity gap between business demands and human limitations. Business leaders are increasingly turning to digital labour to enhance workforce capabilities, with 82% expecting to leverage AI-driven solutions within the next 12 to 18 months. Meanwhile, 53% of leaders say productivity must improve, yet 80% of employees and executives report lacking the time and energy to meet rising expectations. Workplace interruptions also remain a critical issue, as employees face disruptions ranging from e-mails and meetings to chats, making it harder to focus and deliver meaningful output. The report also noted that businesses are shifting from traditional hierarchical structures to more dynamic, outcome-driven work charts, where human-agent teams collaborate fluidly to achieve results at scale. This trend is evident as 46% of leaders indicate their organisations are fully automating workflows with AI agents, particularly in customer service, marketing, and product development. As human-agent teams become the norm, organisations must determine the optimal balance between automation and human oversight. Leaders are beginning to assess their human-agent ratio, asking critical questions about when AI outperforms traditional methods, when customers prefer human interaction, and when decision-making requires accountability and human judgment. Lastly, this year's edition of the report spotlighted how more professionals are embracing AI agents as part of their roles, shifting towards a model where employees become agent bosses – individuals who build, delegate to, and manage AI tools to enhance productivity. Leaders anticipate that within five years, teams will be regularly training and managing AI agents as part of their responsibilities. However, a gap in AI adoption remains, as 67% of leaders report familiarity with AI agents, compared to only 40% of employees. Furthermore, 79% of leaders believe AI will accelerate their careers, yet only 67% of employees share that optimism, highlighting an urgent need for AI education and upskilling. Zubin Chagpar, Senior Director and Business Group Leader for Modern Work & Surface Devices at Microsoft CEMA, emphasized the shift underway, saying: 'The findings of this year's Work Trend Index make it clear that businesses must rethink how they harness AI to unlock their full potential. The rise of Frontier Firms demonstrates that leaders who strategically integrate AI-driven intelligence and empower human-agent teams will stay ahead in today's competitive landscape'. To explore the full findings of Microsoft's fifth annual Work Trend Index Report, click here. Image Credit: Microsoft
Al Bawaba
30-04-2025
- Business
- Al Bawaba
Microsoft's 2025 Work Trend Index Report reveals the rise of the Frontier Firm, marking a new era of workforce dynamics
As organizations worldwide navigate the next wave of workplace transformation, Microsoft's fifth annual Work Trend Index (WTI) Report uncovers the emergence of a new kind of enterprise: the Frontier Firm. These businesses operate with intelligence on demand, leveraging hybrid human-agent teams to maximize efficiency and innovation. Conducted in partnership with LinkedIn, the report, titled "2025: The Year the Frontier Firm Is Born", examines insights from 31,000 professionals across 31 countries, alongside LinkedIn Economic Graph data and trillions of aggregated signals from e-mails, meetings, and chats within Microsoft 365. The report found that AI has fundamentally altered the equation of workforce capacity. Intelligence is no longer restricted by headcount or expertise, and is now abundant, affordable, and scalable. As economic pressures mount, organizations must harness AI's potential to bridge the widening capacity gap between business demands and human limitations. Business leaders are increasingly turning to digital labor to enhance workforce capabilities, with 82% expecting to leverage AI-driven solutions within the next 12 to 18 months. Meanwhile, 53% of leaders say productivity must improve, yet 80% of employees and executives report lacking the time and energy to meet rising expectations. Workplace interruptions also remain a critical issue, as employees face disruptions ranging from e-mails and meetings to chats, making it harder to focus and deliver meaningful output. The report also noted that businesses are shifting from traditional hierarchical structures to more dynamic, outcome-driven work charts, where human-agent teams collaborate fluidly to achieve results at scale. This trend is evident as 46% of leaders indicate their organizations are fully automating workflows with AI agents, particularly in customer service, marketing, and product development. As human-agent teams become the norm, organizations must determine the optimal balance between automation and human oversight. Leaders are beginning to assess their human-agent ratio, asking critical questions about when AI outperforms traditional methods, when customers prefer human interaction, and when decision-making requires accountability and human judgment. Lastly, this year's edition of the report spotlighted how more professionals are embracing AI agents as part of their roles, shifting towards a model where employees become agent bosses – individuals who build, delegate to, and manage AI tools to enhance productivity. Leaders anticipate that within five years, teams will be regularly training and managing AI agents as part of their responsibilities. However, a gap in AI adoption remains, as 67% of leaders report familiarity with AI agents, compared to only 40% of employees. Furthermore, 79% of leaders believe AI will accelerate their careers, yet only 67% of employees share that optimism, highlighting an urgent need for AI education and upskilling. Zubin Chagpar, Senior Director and Business Group Leader for Modern Work & Surface Devices at Microsoft CEMA, emphasized the shift underway, saying: 'The findings of this year's Work Trend Index make it clear that businesses must rethink how they harness AI to unlock their full potential. The rise of Frontier Firms demonstrates that leaders who strategically integrate AI-driven intelligence and empower human-agent teams will stay ahead in today's competitive landscape.' To explore the full findings of Microsoft's fifth annual Work Trend Index Report, click here.
