3 in 4 workers say technology has replaced parts of their job, report reveals

Seventy-three per cent of employees said technology has replaced work that was part of their job five years ago.

For its survey, Gartner collected responses from 2,986 employees in July 2025. It found that 77 per cent participated in available AI training, 65 per cent reported enthusiasm surrounding AI use for work, and 62 per cent of employees reported that AI saved them an average of 1.5 hours per day.

Based on its data, Gartner found that more than two in five (42 per cent) employees reported being able to identify where best to implement AI. In contrast, 7 per cent reported that AI cost them time.

Gartner HR practice research director Benjamin Loring said employees struggle to implement AI at work because they do not find it relevant, their co-workers do not use the technology, and they believe that AI cannot improve their work. Loring advised that these attitudes show that employees require guidance for effective AI implementation.

Guiding employees on AI

According to its research, Gartner found that employees were five times as likely to be top AI users when it solved work frictions. HR departments should help employees to identify where AI can be used to generate efficiencies, Gartner said. In addition, the report recommended that chief human resources officers (CHROs) and chief information officers (CIOs) should collaborate to scale AI skills in the workplace and encourage employees to innovate with AI.

The survey’s findings showed that only 7 per cent of organisations demonstrated to employees how they can time manage when using AI. Gartner recommended that CHROs and C-suite leaders collaborate to identify the expected outcomes from AI tool use and communicate these expectations to employees.

It added that the time saved through AI use should be used for high-value tasks that drive organisational growth and skills development for future organisational needs. It advised that HR departments should encourage employees to use the remaining saved time for personal wellbeing, to give back, and support the community.

Despite 73 per cent of employees having reported that AI has automated tasks that were part of their job five years ago, it has also led to increased inefficiencies – 38 per cent of employees reported having to create new processes, and 41 per cent reported having to work around formal processes because of AI implementation.

Gartner stressed that CHROs must evolve work, not the workforce. It suggested that employees and business leaders should be tasked with identifying performance inefficiencies while evaluating processes and operations for change, including roles and governance models.