Just a few years ago, the pervasive integration of AI into our lives, let alone the prospect of working alongside AI agents, was unimaginable for most Australians.
However, with widespread adoption of AI in the workplace today, new research reveals a compelling insight: this technology isn’t diminishing our humanity, but rather amplifying it. Indeed, AI – particularly agentic AI – is positioned to unlock greater human and business potential. Given Australia’s slowing productivity in recent years, could this amplified potential be a crucial pathway to increasing economic and business growth?
From Apprehension to Advocates
The rapid reshaping of our world by AI is undeniable, and Australians are increasingly embracing this transformation. Recent Workday research indicates that nearly two-thirds (64%) of Australians report AI usage within their departments, above the global average of 59%, including for complex work. A massive 96% express confidence in using AI for more complicated and advanced tasks.
This widespread embrace marks a significant shift from just one year ago. Workday’s earlier research, Closing the AI Trust Gap revealed a cautious Australian workforce, with 60% of organisations expressing concerns about AI’s trustworthiness, the least confident among those surveyed.
This rapid adoption signifies more than just acceptance; Australians now view AI as a crucial tool for enhancing their work. Indeed, an overwhelming majority (86%) believe it will foster greater creativity and drive new forms of economic productivity.
This comes as Australian employers are facing a continued tight labour market, with an unemployment rate at 4.0% in March and projected to remain low for the coming years, while the employment-to-population ratio holds steady at 64.2%, constraining both productivity and economic growth. Agentic AI presents a unique opportunity to augment the limited workforce capacity with digital labour, thereby boosting productivity.
This increasing receptiveness to AI is evident in the dramatic rise in confidence regarding its unbiased application. Australians’ trust in their organisation’s AI capabilities has surged from 51% last year to a remarkable 97%. Furthermore, Australians (97%) express greater agreement than their global counterparts (90%) that AI significantly enhances organisational transparency and accountability. Leaders can capitalise on this growing trust to guide their organisations through transformational change.
The Human Skills Revolution
Today, we are starting to realise that AI will only make us more human. These findings challenge the idea that we’ll be replaced by AI; instead, the research shows it will be the catalyst for a skills revolution where human skills, like empathy and ethical decision-making, become even more important.
According to the study, more than 80% of Australians agree AI tools help them develop new skills in their role – and that AI is fundamentally changing the skills needed to succeed in the workplace.
AI is elevating workforce potential by streamlining processes, automating complex, repetitive tasks, and improving efficiency. This boost in productivity frees teams from high-volume, time-consuming work, allowing individuals to focus on uniquely human skills such as connection and relationship building, emotional intelligence and empathy, and conflict resolution. The rise of AI agents for automatable tasks will continue to spotlight the enduring importance of ‘soft skills’ in the future of work.
For some organisations, this future is already a reality– and they are seeing the tangible results. Our customers report more than a 20% increase in recruiter productivity with our AI-powered Recruiter Agent and a 20-30% acceleration in time-to-hire. Once talent is onboarded, our AI-powered Talent Optimisation solution is helping customers reduce attrition by nearly 40%,translating to potential savings of up to $3M per 100 employees retained.
Jo Anne Ruhl, Vice President and Managing Director, Workday Australia and New Zealand
Managing the Workforce of the Future
Adapting to change means developing new skills and ways of working. While we now effortlessly type emails – a skill once novel – tackling this current shift at scale requires a strategic and sustained skills-based approach across the whole enterprise. This will be crucial for managing the work of both humans and AI agents within a unified workforce. Leaders must invest in large-scale workforce planning and reskilling programmes, prioritising a skills-led perspective to effectively manage this blended workforce.
Effective AI agent management and governance also needs to be carefully considered. Just like real employees, digital employees need onboarding, role definition, activation, and monitoring to ensure they work effectively and responsibly.
To respond to this, Workday has launched its new Agent System of Record – a centralised platform that will provide comprehensive oversight of your entire AI Agent fleet. Leveraging our extensive experience in helping over 10,500 companies globally manage their people, Workday is now extending this deep knowledge of skills and processes to provide a unified platform for managing the entire workforce – both people and AI agents.
Elevating Human Potential
Australians are already realising the advantages of integrating AI into their work. Now, businesses have a transformative opportunity – to strategically manage a workforce that intelligently blends human capabilities with the power of AI agents. With the right approach, this future of work – where people and AI agents collaborate seamlessly – can unlock unprecedented levels of productivity, foster greater creativity, empower stronger leadership, and ultimately enable us to achieve our full potential.
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