New Delhi: Employees across the world are ready to reinvent the way they work using artificial intelligence, but the system wants them to stick to the old ways, says Microsoft’s 2026 Work Trend Index Annual Report.
This comes as workplaces increasingly adopt AI, causing fear of layoff among employees and triggering a race to constantly upskill.
The study, published on 5 May, was conducted across 10 countries — France, India, Australia, the US, the UK, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands — and surveyed 20,000 full-time employees who use AI at work.
According to the report, the world is facing what it calls the “transformation paradox”, where while people are AI-ready, the organisations they are working at are holding them back. This is largely due to metrics, norms, and incentives at workplaces that promote the old ways of working.
The report also highlights a gap between how leaders and their employees feel about AI. Only 26 per cent of the surveyed people said that their leadership was clear and consistent about AI. And leaders surveyed were more likely to call AI-driven innovations safe and rewarded than workers.
Reward and support play key roles in the adoption of AI. And, according to the report, employees are not getting enough of either.
Only 13 per cent reported being rewarded for reinventing their work using AI, and 65 per cent said that they fear falling behind if they don’t join the AI race.
The study calls on leaders to bridge the gap by redesigning systems and rewarding employees for AI-driven reinvention of work. “Individual potential can compound when leadership sets direction, culture supports experimentation and learning, and management practices reinforce new ways of working,” says the report.
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How workers are using AI
The Microsoft study also shows that AI is doing the heavy lifting for most workers, helping them perform tasks that they could not perform before. Sixty-six per cent of the users surveyed said they witnessed increased efficiency as AI let them devote more time to high-value work. About 58 per cent also said AI has allowed them to produce work they couldn’t have a year ago.
A separate analysis of users’ exchange with chatbot Microsoft 365 Copilot highlights that people are more likely to use AI for cognitive work — like analysing data and solving problems — than finding information.
“Employees at every level now have a partner that helps them analyze, synthesize, and deepen their own expertise, while also building expertise in other areas. AI is not just helping us do things faster. It’s expanding who can do high-value work,” says the report.