Companies are bringing in more AI than ever — but employees are increasingly just working around it

• New report finds clear mismatch between employer perception and worker sentiment
• Hybrid workers experience the most difficulty with collaboration tools
• Half of workers say they use unapproved tools over workplace software

New research from Ricoh has found businesses to be investing heavily in AI for workers, but those workers aren't exactly experiencing the productivity gains advertised on the tin.

There's a clear mismatch, with 91% over business decision-makers believing their AI investments are delivering the expected value, but one in two (53%) workers actually find those AI tools are creating friction or additional work.

Another half (55%) even go as far as saying the time spent managing poor technology interferes with their productivity.

Ricoh analyzed four key workplace technologies – AI tools, communication and collaboration tools, data access tools and workflow management tools – and found AI to have the least impactful productivity boost.

An overwhelming majority (90%) of decision-makers also feel optimistic about how connected their tools and systems are, and yet three in four (76%) employees are calling out for systems that work better together.

"Fragmented technology, data and workflows create avoidable complexity that many employees are left to navigate themselves,” IDC Workplace Solutions Group VP Amy Loomis explained.

Despite a rise in remote working, just 14% of WFHers feel that they have collaboration difficulties, compared with 16% of office workers. The biggest snag is among hybrid workers (25%), who feel that disconnected systems are making it hard to collaborate with colleagues across multiple environments.

As a result, nearly half (45%) of workers admit to using non-approved tools like shadow AI at least monthly, which Ricoh argues creates a governance nightmare with employers struggling for visibility.

Still, with four in five (81%) decision-makers admitting that they're investing in new technology faster than they support worker adoption, there's a clear recognition that employers are falling short.

"Organizations need to better orchestrate the technology, information and workflows they already have," Ricoh North America Chief Digital Services and Delivery Officer Bob Lamendola explained, urging workplaces to slow down and concentrate on where new tools like AI can actually be useful.

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.