Auxilion survey reveals AI saves office workers on average 17 workdays per year

Auxilion, the leading Irish IT managed services provider, has announced the results of its latest survey which reveals office workers save, on average, 17 workdays per year with AI. This equates to just under three hours a week (2 hours, 54 minutes).

The survey – involving 1,000 office workers and conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Auxilion and HPE – also reveals the ways in which workers are using their saved time. While most are focusing on higher priority activities (44%), boosting productivity (42%) and performing more upskilling/training (29%) also ranked highly.

Some employees seem hesitant to forfeit such time savings with one in five (22%) admitting they would consider changing jobs if their company banned AI usage. Of those using AI, 68% says it makes their job easier. Notably, 27% acknowledge they would not be capable of completing their work effectively without AI.

It appears increased AI use raises ethical considerations, with the research revealing that almost a third of office workers (31%) have raised concerns about the ethical use of technology in their company. Furthermore, over a quarter (27%) believe their own use of AI would be considered unethical.

In terms of the activities that may be deemed unethical, the most cited ones were using AI tools to complete work tasks without informing a boss or supervisor (45%) and putting sensitive company or customer data into an AI tool (26%).

These actions could come down to the fact that almost half (42%) of office workers have not been provided training or guidance on how to use AI tools safely and effectively by their employer.

Concerns regarding AI usage extend beyond ethics with 48% of respondents saying they worry AI tools could eventually replace their role or aspects of their role in the future. This was felt most strongly by the younger cohort, aged 18-24 (54%).

Eleanor Dempsey, Director of Strategy, Innovation and Transformation, said: “There is no denying that AI tools can deliver impressive productivity gains for individuals. However, the reality is that for most organisations, widespread adoption of generative AI has yet to produce significant improvements in overall performance or the bottom line.

“All too often, AI is treated as a quick fix rather than woven into the operational fabric of the business. Without robust governance, risk management, and a clear focus on business outcomes, companies risk spending more time addressing issues in AI rather than realising the benefits. As such, the real opportunity lies in building enterprise-grade solutions that are secure, compliant, and truly transformative for the organisation as a whole.”

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