AI in the Workplace: New Study shows More Tasks, More Collaboration and a Growing Divide
A new global study from Jabra challenges common assumptions about AI in the workplace: heavy AI users report more work and greater collaboration, while a growing divide is emerging between leaders and individual contributors.
- 85% report more work in at least one area, suggesting that time saved is being reinvested into new tasks and expectations
- 64% of heavy AI users collaborate more with colleagues than a year ago, challenging the idea that AI is making work more isolated
- 30% of top managers are heavy AI users, compared with just 8% of individual contributors (workers who are not people managers), highlighting an uneven AI transformation across organisations
- Daily use is 2.4 times higher among employees who experience their manager as AI-competent: 65% use AI daily, compared with 27% among those without management support
- Voice AI users report better wellbeing: employees who speak to AI rather than only type are 24% less likely to report feeling stressed.
Copenhagen, October 6, 2026 – Artificial intelligence is expected to simplify routine tasks and give knowledge workers more time for higher-value work. However, a new global study points to a different reality: rather than doing less, employees report doing more.
For the report “WorkLife 2026: The New Shape of Work,” the Jabra Research Institute surveyed more than 6,000 knowledge workers across Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Poland and India. Eighty-five percent report that at least one area of their day-to-day work has increased over the past year, while only 35% report they spend less time on at least one type of work. This increase is particularly pronounced among heavy AI users.
For example, 56% of heavy AI users spend more time on strategic planning, compared with 35% of light and non-users1. Similar gaps can be seen in creative work (56% vs. 30%), administrative and coordination work (57% vs. 38%) and routine tasks (45% vs. 33%).
| Work activity | Reported change |
Total (5975) |
Heavy AI Users (1107) |
Non- and Light Users (1544) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Administrative / Coordination work |
Decreased | 10% | 13% | 7% |
| No change | 38% | 26% | 48% | |
| Increased | 46% | 57% | 38% | |
| Creative / Content creation | Decreased | 10% | 11% | 7% |
| No change | 34% | 24% | 45% | |
| Increased | 44% | 56% | 30% | |
| Routine execution tasks | Decreased | 14% | 18% | 8% |
| No change | 44% | 33% | 54% | |
| Increased | 39% | 45% | 31% | |
| Strategic / Planning work | Decreased | 8% | 8% | 7% |
| No change | 38% | 30% | 45% | |
| Increased | 47% | 56% | 35% |
Heavy AI use is linked to more collaboration
The study also challenges the assumption that greater AI use means employees spend more time working alone with their computer or digital assistant. Instead, heavy AI use is associated with greater collaboration and a stronger sense of connection within teams.
Among employees who use AI several times a day, 63% say that their sense of connection with their team has improved, while only 12% say it has deteriorated. Among those who use AI monthly or less often, by contrast, just 17% report a stronger sense of connection.
|
Total (5581) |
Heavy AI Users (1107) |
Non- and Light AI Users (1150) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly decreased my sense of connection | 2.1% | 1.5% | 2.8% |
| Somewhat decreased my sense of connection | 11.7% | 9.9% | 14.9% |
| No impact on my sense of connection | 46.9% | 25.7% | 65% |
| Somewhat increased my sense of connection | 26.9% | 32.3% | 14.4% |
| Strongly increased my sense of connection | 12.4% | 30.6% | 2.9% |
Collaboration is also increasing: 64% of heavy AI users work more with others today than they did a year ago, compared with 25% of light users. While AI accelerates research, summaries and initial drafts, the human part of work shifts more towards coordination, shared judgement and decision-making. As a result, meetings are becoming more important as a space for problem-solving and coordination: 40% spend most of their time there on joint problem-solving, while 39% spend it primarily on decision-making.
|
Total (5975) |
Heavy AI Users (1107) |
Non- and Light AI Users (1544) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| A lot less | 2.5% | 1.3% | 3.9% |
| A little less | 10.6% | 8.5% | 12.4% |
| Same as before | 44.8% | 26.5% | 58.6% |
| A little more | 29.8% | 37% | 19.2% |
| A lot more | 12.3% | 26.8% | 6% |
The transformation gap: AI change is not reaching all employees equally
A significant gap is emerging between top management and individual contributors without management responsibility. Thirty percent of top managers are heavy AI users, compared with just 8% of individual contributors. Meanwhile, 40% of individual contributors use AI only monthly or less, compared with 14% of top managers.
This gap is also reflected in how much work is changing: 47% of top management report significant or fundamental changes over the past year, compared with 18% of individual contributors.
There is a similar divide in perceptions of organisational support. Forty-four percent of C-suite respondents say that their organisation has implemented at least three measures to support AI adoption, compared with just 14% of individual contributors. At the same time, 38% of individual contributors say their employer has taken no action or that they are unaware of any measures, compared with 10% of top management.
Training shows a similar pattern: 64% of individual contributors have received no AI training or only a brief introduction, compared with 26% of top management. Among those who have received training, just 39% of individual contributors rate it as very or extremely relevant to their role, compared with 76% of top management.
| Total | All IC |
IC Heavy Users |
All C-Level |
C-Level Heavy Users |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No training at all | 23% | 42% | 24% | 13% | 4% |
|
A brief introductory session |
19% | 22% | 23% | 13% | 10% |
|
1-2 structured training sessions |
24% | 19% | 23% | 23% | 14% |
|
Several structured or role- specific training sessions |
21% | 11% | 20% | 28% | 38% |
|
Ongoing or advanced training |
11% | 3% | 8% | 22% | 34% |
Managers as a key driver of AI use
Managers can play an important role in closing this gap. Yet only 27% of individual contributors consider their direct managers to be very or extremely competent in AI.
The link with usage is clear: among employees who perceive their manager as competent, daily AI use stands at 65%, compared with 27% among those without this support. That makes daily AI use 2.4 times higher.
Career optimism is also significantly higher among employees who view their manager as AI-competent, at 8.3 out of 10 compared with 5.5 among those who do not.
Calum MacDougall, President at Jabra, says: “The winning companies of the future will be the companies that win at AI deployment. And winning at AI deployment depends on leaders listening and engaging with their teams to fully understand what they need to work with AI productively.”
Speaking to AI: New tasks require new ways of working
Interaction with AI is already changing: employees who regularly use voice to interact with AI are increasingly turning to it for problem-solving, coordination and collaboration, where conversation can offer a more natural way to interact. As AI takes on a broader role in the working day, intuitive, direct interaction between people and AI is becoming increasingly important.
Employees who regularly speak to AI also report higher levels of wellbeing than those who only type: they are 24% less likely to feel stressed, 23% less likely to feel exhausted and are 37% more likely to say their job feels secure.
| Metric |
Voice AI users |
Non voice AI users |
Callout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stress | 20% | 26% | 24% less likely to be stressed |
| Exhaustion | 16% | 21% | 23% less likely to be exhausted |
| Motivation | 46% | 39% | 16% more likely to be motivated |
| Fulfilment | 29% | 23% | 25% more likely to be fulfilled |
| Purpose | 34% | 30% | 13% more likely to feel purpose |
| Security | 50% | 36% | 37% more likely to feel their job is more secure |
This way of working is more common when the right organisational conditions are in place. Employees who regularly speak to AI are more likely to receive practical training, view their managers as competent sources of support and work in processes designed for modern collaboration. Technology also plays an important role: employees with professional audio and video hardware designed for conversational AI are around 40% more likely to regularly use voice to interact with AI in their day-to-day work.
The proportion of employees using voice to interact with AI can therefore be an important indicator of how future-ready an organisation is.
Calum MacDougall, President at Jabra, says: “We all talk to our work colleagues. Having conversations with our AI colleagues is a natural extension of the way we already work – when we can simply speak & iterate in the flow of work, AI becomes a practical partner and colleague.
Companies that make this human to AI conversation seamless and secure will unlock the best returns on their AI investments.”
Methodology
The WorkLife 2026 report is based on a survey conducted in May 2026 by Toluna on behalf of Jabra among more than 6,000 knowledge workers across six markets. Covering almost 200 variables, the study explores how AI is changing the way people work, how organisations are responding, and what separates the workers who are thriving from those who feel left behind.
¹ Heavy AI users use AI multiple times per day at work; light users use AI monthly or less.
PR Contact
Claus Fonnesbech
Senior Director, Global PR & Communications, Jabra
cfonnesbech@jabra.com
+45 2588 4107
About Jabra
Jabra is a world leading brand in audio, video, and collaboration solutions – engineered to empower businesses. Proudly part of the GN Group, we are committed to bringing people closer to one another and to what is important to them. GN’s R&D team utilizes innovative hardware, software, and AI-enabled technologies and expertise across hearing, enterprise, and gaming product groups. This engineering excellence allows Jabra to create integrated and customer-centric tools for contact centers, offices, and collaboration to help professionals work more productively from anywhere. www.jabra.com
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