Unmanageable workloads, no idea about AI... what are the hopes and fears of local employees?

Tuesday 19 September 2023

A higher percentage of workers in the Channel Islands have reported finding their workloads unmanageable than anywhere else in the world, a new survey has revealed.

PwC’s Channel Islands’ ‘Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey’ compared the responses of 563 employees across all industries and sectors in Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney to nearly 54,000 employees around the world.

Over a third said that they often or usually find their workloads unmanageable, which is 14% higher than the global average.

However, less employees were considering leaving their roles than the average, with one in seven people who took part considering leaving their current job compared to the average of one in four elsewhere.

The survey further revealed that Channel Islands' workers are largely unaware of the expected impacts AI will have on their careers over the next five years, with half of respondents selecting 'I don't think AI will impact my job' and 'Don't know'.

A generational split in responses showed that 45% of 'Gen Z' and 'Millennials' indicated that they believe that AI will help to increase productivity and efficiency at work in the next five years, versus 22% of respondents from older generations.

Finally, over half of Channel Islands' employees believe their employer has a responsibility to take action to address climate change, and of that half, 40% do not think their employer is doing enough in this regard.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Leyla Yildirim, Chief Strategy Officer of PwC Channel Islands, said that employees are "bearing the brunt of ongoing skills shortages, having to take on extra responsibilities beyond their job description and seeing their workloads increase."

Pictured: Leyla Yildirim, Chief Strategy Officer for PwC.

She continued: "Organisations taking that loyalty for granted do so at their peril.

"The need to have a compelling employee value proposition to keep hold of good staff and invest in their wellbeing to grow our economy, has never been more important.

"The lack of awareness about the potential impact of AI on local jobs is particularly concerning, and the onus must be on employers to invest now in upskilling staff for the future world of work or we risk being left behind."

"It has never been more important to engage and listen to the workforce, cultivate a people-centric environment, foster innovation and support what matters most to employees and surveys such as this provide a touchstone to the thinking of employees of all ages across the industry sectors in the Channel Islands and can help employers to forge a successful strategy.

"Business leaders must recognise the value of their existing workforce's human skills, their values and needs, and the potential that can be realised by arming employees with the knowledge and permission to innovate with increasingly powerful yet intuitive technologies, and then work hard to retain those people by creating a rewarding, enriching career path."