Generative AI in the Workplace: Employee Perspectives of ChatGPT Benefits and Organizational Policies

Research Questions•What attitudes do professionals hold towards the impact of AI on society and their jobs? How do early adopters of ChatGPT differ in their attitudes towards the impact of AI on society and their jobs? •In what ways are professionals using ChatGPT? How do these uses differ by managerial status?•What do professional perceive as benefits of generative AI? How do they differ in these views based on level of ChatGPT adoption and managerial status?•What do professionals perceive as the benefits of organizational policy for the use of generative AI? How do these views differ based on level of ChatGPT adoption and managerial status?Samples•Study 1 involved 148 working adults in the United States who had heard of ChatGPT•Study 2 involved 395 working adults in the United States who had heard of ChatGPTResearch Questions•What attitudes do professionals hold towards the impact of AI on society and their jobs? How do early adopters of ChatGPT differ from non-adopters in their attitudes towards the impact of AI on society and their jobs? •In what ways are professionals using ChatGPT? How do these uses differ by managerial status?•What do professionals perceive as benefits of generative AI? How do they differ in these views based on level of ChatGPT adoption and managerial status?•What do professionals perceive as the benefits of organizational policy for the use of generative AI? How do these views differ based on level of ChatGPT adoption and managerial status?Samples•Study 1 involved 148 working adults in the United States who had heard of ChatGPT•Study 2 involved 395 working adults in the United States who had heard of ChatGPTKey Findings and Conclusions•Many US workers in this sample are using ChatGPT for professional purposes. Roughly the following percentages have already used ChatGPT in the following ways:o42% for researching a topic or generating ideaso32% for drafting messageso26% for drafting longer documents, such as reportso22% for editing text•Many US workers in this sample believe ChatGPT can help them become better communicators. This is particularly the case for executives and managers. Roughly two thirds of executives (67%) and managers (64%) believe generative AI can help them communicate more effectively. •Early adopters of ChatGPT in this sample hold much different views of generative AI than do non-users of ChatGPT. Early adopters hold the following distinctive views:oThey are much more likely to think AI is good for society than non-users (64% to 22%) and believe it will make them more productive (82% for early adopters; 26% for non-users); however, they are also more likely to worry about the ethical implications of AI (68% to 55%) in the workplace and worry that their own job will be replaced by AI (41% to 20%).oThey are much more likely to think generative AI will support them in their work. About 85% of early adopters say that ChatGPT can help them generate ideas for work compared to about 50% of non-users. About 73% of early adopters say it can improve the quality of their work compared to 42% of non-users. About 74% of early adopters say it can help them communicate more effectively compared to 41% of non-users. Executives and managers are slightly more likely to be enthusiastic about the benefits.•Employees in organizations with generative AI policies view these policies positively. Those who are aware of an organizational policy about generative AI generally believe it has supported more comfort in using ChatGPT for work, has improved trust, has improved efficiency, and has provided legal protections. Those who are early adopters are generally more positive about each of these benefits of organizational policy than those who are non-users of ChatGPT.•Most early adopters of generative AI in organizations without generative AI policies want more guidance about ChatGPT use. Most early adopters believe an organizational policy would make them more comfortable using ChatGPT (61%), that it would increase trust (56%), and that it would improve efficiency (66%).Key Recommendations•Develop generative AI policies that support innovation and efficiency while putting into place legal safeguards for organizations and their employees.•Use a social contracts approach to develop generative AI policies.