Employees Voted Manager VS Robot, and The Answer May Surprise You

A recent study found that employees trust robots more than their human managers. The second annual ‘AI at Work’ study conducted by Oracle and research firm Future Workplace included 8,370 employees, managers and HR leaders across ten countries. The study found that AI has changed the relationship between people and technology at work and is reshaping the role of HR teams in attracting, retaining and developing talent.

Emily He, senior vice president, human capital management for Oracle’s cloud business group, said that the study shows the relationship between humans and machines is being redefined at work, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to manage the change successfully. Organizations need to partner with their HR teams to personalize the approach to implement AI at work to meet the changing expectations of their teams around the world.

Web Editor Michael J. O’Brien told Human Resource Executive that there is an increased adoption of AI at Work, and it is having significant impact on the way employees interact with managers. As a result, the traditional role of HR teams and manager are shifting.

Here are some stats from the study,

1. About 64% of people would trust a robot more than a manager, and 50% are turning towards robots for advice instead of a manager.

2. The percentage of employees that trust robots over managers changes across geographies: India (89%), China (88%), Singapore (83%), Brazil (78%), Japan (76%), UAE (74%), Australia/New Zealand (58%), US (57%), UK (54%), and France (56%).

3. Around 82% of people think that robots can do things better than their managers.

4. People were asked what robots can do better than their managers- 26% of respondents said that they provide unbiased information, 34% said maintaining work schedules, 29% of problem-solving, and 26% in managing a budget.

5. People were asked what managers can do better than robots- 45% of workers said that they understand their feelings, 33% said that they coach them, and 29% said they create a work culture.

Dan Schawbel, Research Director at Future Workplace, said that “Over the past two years we’ve found that workers have become more optimistic as they’ve adopted AI in the workplace and HR is leading the way. The 2019 study shows that AI is redefining not only the relationship between worker and manager but also the role of a manager in an AI-driven workplace. Based on the findings, managers will remain relevant in the future if they focus on being human and using their soft skills while leaving the technical skills and routine tasks to robots.”