Deputy<\/a>, Australia\u2019s shift workers are embracing AI in their workplaces but many remain in the dark about how it\u2019s being used and what rights they have.<\/p>\nDeputy says its \u2018Better Together: How AI and Human Connection Will Transform Frontline Work\u2019 report reveals how AI is reshaping Australia\u2019s frontline workplaces, and warns that without informed, empowered workers, Australia\u2019s AI ambitions could stall. Based on 1500 global anonymised survey responses from hourly shift workers across hospitality, foodservice, retail and health care, the report finds that while more than half of Australian workplaces (51%) are now using AI, nearly half (49%) are unaware that it\u2019s being used in their workplace or unsure how it applies to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI isn\u2019t a plug-and-play solution \u2014 it\u2019s a culture shift,\u201d said Silvija Martincevic, CEO of Deputy. \u201cOur research shows nearly half of workplaces are already using AI, but only one in four workers personally interact with it, and most aren\u2019t told how it affects their jobs. That\u2019s not innovation, that\u2019s isolation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe real challenge isn\u2019t building smarter tools, it\u2019s building trust. When workers are trained, consulted, and given transparency, AI becomes more than a system upgrade; it becomes shared progress. The future of work will belong to organisations that treat AI as a people project first, and a technology project second.\u201d<\/p>\n
AI is spreading fast but workers risk being left behind<\/h4>\n
Although Australians aren\u2019t afraid of the technology itself, they\u2019re frustrated by being excluded from decisions that directly affect their day-to-day work. The rollout is often invisible to those on the ground, with just one in six (16%) saying their employer is completely transparent about AI\u2019s impact, and nearly half (49%) saying they\u2019re unaware of AI being used in their workplace or unsure how it applies to them.<\/p>\n
Consultation is equally rare. 42% of workers say their company rarely or never asks for input before introducing new technologies, creating a quiet disconnect between decision makers and frontline teams. Workers are not rejecting AI itself; they\u2019re rejecting how it\u2019s being introduced, with minimal dialogue, limited visibility, and little sense of agency.<\/p>\n
Compared to their peers in the US (27%) and UK (28%), Australian workers are also the least informed about their rights and protections around AI use, with one in three (33%) admitting they\u2019re unaware of them entirely.<\/p>\n
The fear of being unprepared, not replaced<\/h4>\n
Contrary to the common narrative that AI threatens jobs, Australia\u2019s frontline workers are more concerned about being left behind than replaced. The anxiety is not about automation \u2014 it\u2019s about adaptation.<\/p>\n
More than half (59%) of workers say they\u2019re not worried about being replaced by AI, but they wish they had more training and preparation to use it effectively. Only one in four (25%) say they\u2019ve received all the training they need, while more than a third (36%) report getting little to none. Even among those who\u2019ve had some training, nearly four in ten (39%) wish they\u2019d received more.<\/p>\n
As AI becomes a routine part of frontline work, the challenge isn\u2019t the technology itself \u2014 it\u2019s ensuring workers are prepared, informed\u00a0and empowered.<\/p>\n
The irreplaceable value of human connection<\/h4>\n
While Australian workers recognise that AI can support their jobs, they also emphasise that two-thirds (66%) of their roles require a human or personal touch when interacting with customers and patients. Most see humans excelling where machines cannot \u2014 from building trust and connection (92%) and managing emotional needs (93%) to making ethical decisions (88%) \u2014 with 94% agreeing that compassion, emotional support\u00a0and empathy will always remain uniquely human strengths.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis research is a powerful reminder that as AI becomes more integrated into frontline work, technology must serve people \u2014 not the other way around,\u201d said Dan Schawbel, Managing Partner at Workplace Intelligence. \u201cShift workers are telling us they value AI\u2019s efficiency but want to be part of the conversation about how it\u2019s used. Employers have a critical opportunity to bridge this trust gap by being transparent, offering training, and ensuring their teams feel supported and empowered through the transition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe empathy, compassion and human connection that define frontline roles can\u2019t be automated \u2014 and organisations that recognise this balance between innovation and humanity will build stronger, more resilient workplaces for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Image credit: iStock.com\/LeoWolfert<\/h9><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \t
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<\/BR><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AI is reshaping frontline work, but half of Aussie workers still unaware: report According to a survey by shift-work software company Deputy, Australia\u2019s shift workers are embracing AI in their workplaces but many remain in the dark about how it\u2019s being used and what rights they have. Deputy says its \u2018Better Together: How AI and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[48],"class_list":["post-8257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology-decisions","tag-technology-decisions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mailitics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8257"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mailitics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mailitics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mailitics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mailitics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mailitics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8257\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mailitics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mailitics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mailitics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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