The study, which surveyed 15,600 respondents across industries in 12 countries, reveals that work is still not really working. Only 26% of UK knowledge workers have a healthy relationship with work, a one-point increase compared to last year’s findings. However, new findings hone in on two potential solutions to improve relationships with work: AI and personalised work experiences.
“As workers' expectations continue to shift, many businesses have yet to fully adapt their workspaces, culture, tools, and leadership styles to meet these evolving needs,” said Neil Sawyer, Managing Director of HP UK and Ireland. “In the UK, it’s clear that a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer sufficient, and 76% of business leaders agreed that there is urgency to make change in order to better employees’ work relationships, a +10 pt increase from 2023. Personalised work environments are increasingly important, with employees seeking more flexibility in when, where, and how they work. Business leaders must recognise that these choices impact not only employees’ relationship with work but also their overall wellbeing and long-term engagement.”
Personalised Work Experiences Can Lead to Healthier Relationships with Work
In its second year, the study continued to analyse aspects of people’s relationships with work, including the role of work in their lives, their skills, abilities, tools, workspaces and their expectations of leadership. This year, WRI reveals a major universal need from knowledge workers: personalised work experiences.
At least two-thirds of workers expressed a desire for personalised work experiences, including tailored workspaces, access to preferred technologies and flexible working environments. These experiences are crucial for improving relationships with work, and have positive implications for both employees and businesses:
64% of knowledge workers globally say if work was tailored or customised to personal needs and preferences, they would be more invested in their company's growth.
69% of knowledge workers globally believe it would enhance their overall well-being.
68% of global knowledge workers stated it would incentivise them to stay with their current employers longer.
This desire for personalisation is so strong that 85% of UK knowledge workers would be willing to forgo part of their salary for it. On average, workers would be willing to give up to 13% of their salary.
AI Opens New Opportunities for Knowledge Workers to Enjoy Work and Improve Productivity
AI usage among UK knowledge workers has surged to 66% in 2024, up from 27% last year. Workers around the globe who use AI are seeing the benefits, including a healthier relationship with work:
73% feel that AI makes their jobs easier, and nearly 7-in-10 (69%) are customising their use of AI to be more productive, indicating AI could be an ingredient to unlocking a more personalised work experience.
60% state that AI plays a key role in improving their work-life balance.
68% say AI opens up new opportunities for them to enjoy work.
73% agree that a better understanding of AI will make it easier to advance their careers.
Further, knowledge workers who use AI around the globe are +11-points happier with their relationship with work than their colleagues who don't. Therefore, there is an urgency to get AI into the hands of workers sooner rather than later as non-AI users have shown increased fear of job replacement by AI, with 39% in the UK expressing concern, a +10-point increase from last year.
Business Leaders Lack Confidence; Female Leaders Emerge as a Bright Spot
While at the global scale the index highlights little change, countries that saw an increase in their individual work relationship index saw slight improvement across the six key drivers of a healthy relationship with work – most notably the Leadership and Fulfillment drivers. This year’s index revealed that trust in senior leadership remains a critical factor in a healthy work relationship, but there is a disconnect between the recognition of the importance of human skills (e.g., mindfulness, self-awareness, communication, creative-thinking, resilience, empathy, emotional intelligence) and leaders’ confidence to deliver:
While more than 90% of leaders acknowledge the benefits of empathy, only 27% of UK business leaders feel confident in their human skills.
Only 28% of global workers consistently see empathy from their leaders, despite 78% valuing it highly.
However, this year’s research uncovered a bright spot: female leaders. On average, across the globe, female business leaders are +10-points more confident in their hard skills (technical, computer, presentation, etc.), and notably +13-points more confident in human skills than their male counterparts. Additionally, female business leaders’ confidence in both skills grew over the past year (+10 points in human skills, +4 points in hard skills), while confidence among male business leaders remained stagnant in human skills and decreased in hard skills (-3 points)
