Can AI Help Employees Be Happier at Work?

Automating repetitive tasks frees up time for employees to do more with their lives outside the office, improving work-life balance

- Geetika Sachdev

"I can't imagine my work life without AI," says Pratik Joshi, 24, a marketing professional at an advertising firm in Mumbai. "It helps me plan my to-do list, my projects, my work meetings, even when I should take a break."

There are two reasons Joshi likes to stick to a daily schedule made by artificial intelligence: It helps him stay more "efficient" at work, and also have some free time during the day to go to the gym or pursue other interests like skateboarding—all things that he believes have helped him strike a better work-life balance. "This is my first job and I want to give my best, but I am not going to compromise on other aspects of my life. I give ChatGPT my prompts and it plans my days better than I could perhaps do it by myself," says Joshi, who, besides ChatGPT, also uses FeedHive to plan his social media profile (he plans to become a full-time content creator eventually). "Plus, it helps refine my work; my presentations are better, I feel."

It's been a while since AI arrived in the workplace and the world started debating whether it would replace people's jobs. The debate continues, but the conversation has now steered towards how individuals can best utilize AI tools to make their life easier—and, possibly, happier.

A survey by tech company HP last year concluded that workers who use AI are happier with their relationship with work compared to those who don't. The HP Work Relationship Index, a comprehensive study that explored the world's relationship with work and included interviews with 15,600 respondents across industries in 12 countries, said, "AI usage among knowledge workers (essentially trained people who use theory and analysis to deliver products and services for their employers) has surged to 66% in 2024, up from 38% last year. Workers who use AI are seeing the benefits, including a healthier relationship with work."