HR Technology’s Impact on the Workforce
There are over 160 million people employed in the United States1 yet no one is looking at how they are impacted by HR technology — until now.
Traditionally, industry research has focused on how HR leaders and practitioners are evaluating, buying, using and replacing their HR tech stacks. Despite HR being the primary buyers and administrators for these technologies, they represent only a fraction of those that are impacted by these digital decisions. In fact, HR comprises just 1% of the total US workforce2 leaving a gaping hole in our understanding of how HR technology affects workers. This study bridges that gap, bringing the views of the workers to light, so HR can shape more inclusive and effective digital strategies.
About the research
This study of over 4,000 employees was conducted by Mercer to gain a better understanding of how HR technologies impact employees in the workforce.
Our research explored misconceptions around who’s really using AI, why we build applications mobile-first, who is adopting new tech at work and why, and more.
For the purpose of this study, we looked at US full-time workers, who touch technology the most, across a range of industries and job levels, as well as across both hourly and salaried workers.
Key findings
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The HR leader has more impact on AI experimentation at work than any other leader7 in 10 workers will try AI at work if HR talks about its impact, but only 13% of workers have heard from HR on AI.
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Digital natives aren’t any faster to try new technology at work than digital immigrants18 to 24 year-olds are twice as likely as 35 to 44 year-olds to say they don’t find benefit in using new tech at work.
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Mobile isn’t the hourly workforce hero the market was betting on50% of hourly workers prefer to speak with someone in person regarding their HR and work related concerns, compared to just 10% that prefer to interact with a chatbot or digital assistant.
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Well-being is a luxury not everyone feels they can affordThe lowest earners engage with wellness solutions the least across all workers.
Recommendations
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Design for changeBefore you ever consider new technology, involve your workforce in the business case, use case development, testing and experimentation to inform your change enablement strategy. You also need to listen to the opinions of employees who use the technology so you can continuously look for ways to improve. Beyond listening, understanding your specific workforce personas and how will you address their needs and challenges through the digital experiences you design is critical for achievement of overall success.
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Speak up moreHR is more fluent than we expect around AI and they’re using it more than most thought. The real struggle is in the perception of HR as a digital leader. As we see from the conversations HR is having around AI, simply speaking up and contributing your voice to the AI conversation is a great starting point for both changing that perception and for encouraging experimentation. This is probably because IT is expected to talk about AI. HR talking about it makes it feel more real, even urgent. Use this power to become a key AI influencer inside your organization.
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Look beyond technologyAre you creating an environment in which basic needs are met, and well-being is encouraged? Are leaders leading by example and sharing those examples with employees? When employees feel safe at work and are given the time and space to pay attention to their well-being, they typically do. Without that, all the policies in the world won’t get people to believe it’s okay to focus on themselves and their well-being.
1 Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2024 data shows 161,491,000 people employed in the US
2 Data from Statista shows 980,000 HR workers in the US in 2023
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