In just three years, the pandemic changed workplace culture across the globe. Businesses across industries shifted to remote or hybrid work and trends from the “Great Resignation” to “Quiet Quitting” highlight a new reality: work-life balance and productive use of time are not only here to stay, they are crucial elements to attract and retain talent.

In response, companies are increasingly focusing on improving “digital employee experience” (DEX) as a means to increase productivity while at the same time increase employee engagement. Forrester defines DEX as:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have proven effective at improving employee engagement, increasing job satisfaction, and supporting happier employees. Let’s explore three ways AI is making employees happier.

1. AI can find and customize opportunities to upskill your employees

According to PwC’s Global Artificial Intelligence Study, the potential contribution to the global economy by 2030 from AI is $15.7 trillion–that's more than the current output of China and India combined. Business leaders focused on the future of work must consider how to best leverage AI in their strategies to maintain competitive advantage not only for their customers, but for their employees as well.

Accenture’s Future Skills pilot program used AI to identify skills gaps in the workforce and developed a personalized learning experience, with AI giving powerful insight to new opportunities to upskill and transition people from work that may be displaced by technology.

Beyond cultivating a culture of learning and development, using data- and AI-driven insights to empower people to make personal choices about their careers is a win-win for all.

2. Give your employees more value for their time by using AI for manual, repetitive tasks

The United States annual productivity had its largest decline in measure since 1974, and with levels of employee burnout rising, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are a game changer for businesses looking to improve employee engagement and increase job satisfaction.

An ABBYY survey carried out by Sapio Research found that 92 percent of employees say they waste up to eight hours a WEEK searching documents for information they need to serve customers. That’s a whole day “lost” in emails, PDFs, Excel sheets, and other digital documents. It’s no surprise productivity levels are at a record low.

Use AI to automate repetitive mundane tasks, and free up time for employees to focus on more meaningful and fulfilling work. For example, UK-based company Costain automated its manual invoice process of 400,000 invoices, saving nine minutes per invoice, reducing employee (and customer) pain points. Updating their back-office systems also helped Costain to attract and retain top talent.