72% Say AI Has Changed the Skills Required for Their Jobs – BCG Survey

Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a management consulting firm, has released a report titled "AI at Work: Strategy Matters More Than Tools" based on a survey of AI usage in the workplace. The survey was conducted among 11,749 people, from executives to employees, across 14 countries and regions, including Japan. It was carried out by BCG X, BCG's specialist group in the digital domain, and is now in its fourth year.

Daily AI usage among general employees has grown significantly, reaching a global average of 74%, up more than 20 percentage points from 51% last year. Regionally, India (95%) and Middle Eastern countries (93%) far exceeded the global average, with Global South countries continuing to drive AI adoption. Japan, at 66%, surpassed the US (62%) but fell short of the global average.

As AI spreads, the nature of work is also changing. 72% of respondents said AI has changed the skills required for their jobs, and 47% reported that their work has shifted towards directing or managing AI.

Among daily AI users, 67% feel increased job satisfaction, while 41% reported increased fatigue from thinking and decision-making, a so-called "cognitive load." This reveals a paradox where AI improves work efficiency but also increases task difficulty.

While 42% of general employees who use AI daily say it saves them at least one working day per week, 66% said they have not been given sufficient guidance on how to use that time, or none at all. More than half are not using the saved time for strategic tasks.

The survey also looked at AI agent usage. 30% of daily AI users said AI agents are already integrated into their workflows, more than double the 13% from last year's survey. Furthermore, 61% believe AI agents will be able to perform more than half of their tasks within the next three years. However, 52% of all respondents said they do not fully understand AI agents, indicating that governance (clarifying oversight and accountability) is not keeping pace with technological advancements.

Corporate AI usage is expanding from efficiency gains in individual tasks through AI tools to redesigning entire workflows and processes, and even creating new business models and products. Employees at companies that are redesigning business processes or creating new business models showed the following characteristics compared to those at companies that are not:

- 24 percentage points more likely to feel that AI is improving business results - 22 percentage points more likely to save at least one working day per week - 20 percentage points more likely to feel increased job satisfaction

Masahiro Nakagawa, Managing Director and Partner at BCG X and leader of the generative AI topic in Japan, said: "The survey results show that AI adoption is spreading across all corporate activities, and the changes in the skills and responsibilities required of people are steadily progressing. On the other hand, it is not yet clear how to allocate the capacity freed up by efficiency gains, and there is a need to redesign employee roles and work processes. Furthermore, as the implementation of AI agents accelerates, the framework for control and accountability is still under development. To link the value of AI to sustainable competitiveness, it is important for management to take the lead in promoting both organizational transformation and governance strengthening."