Singaporean employees are more likely to delegate as much work as possible to artificial intelligence (AI) tools to lessen their workload. The findings came from Microsoft’s third annual Work Trend Index, titled ‘Will AI Fix Work?’. The report, which polled some 31,000 people across 31 countries including Singapore, made three observations.

One of the observations alluded to a new AI-employee alliance in that employees are more eager for AI to lift the weight of their work amid concerns about their jobs being replaced by AI. Within the report, 81% of Singaporean employees indicated that they would delegate as much as their work to AI to lessen their workload, compared to the 78% of employees polled across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

In Singapore, 87% of the people polled said that they would be comfortable with using AI for analytical work while 81% of them are comfortable with using AI for the creative aspects of their role. About 85% of the group said that they would use AI for administrative tasks. This is similar to their peers in APAC, where 85% said that they would use AI for analytical work. 81% of the respondents in APAC would use AI for creative aspects while 83% of them would rely on AI for administrative tasks.

At the same time, more Singaporeans are also worried that AI will replace their jobs with 67% of them compared to APAC’s 58%. This is in line with Singapore’s business leaders being 1.5x more likely to say that AI would provide value in the workplace by boosting productivity rather than cutting headcount, lower than the global average of 2x and the regional average of 1.8x.

The report also found that every employee needs an aptitude for AI. With the paradigm shift to AI as a copilot, working alongside AI using natural language will be as inherent to how we work as the internet and the personal computer (PC). Moving forward, skills like critical thinking and analytical judgment, complex problem solving, and creativity and originality will be regarded as new core competencies—and not just for technical roles or AI experts.

In Singapore, 88% of its leaders are expecting that employees will need new skills in the AI era compared to the 85% in APAC. While the technology continues to evolve, 76% of employees in Singapore say they currently don’t have the right capabilities to get their work done, more than the 71% in APAC.

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As the paradigm shifts to integrate AI as a co-pilot in the workplace, we will see ripple effects across the labour market through expanding opportunities and augmented productivity, says Microsoft.

Finally, AI seems to be key at this point with digital debt, which refers to the inflow of data such as emails and meetings that outpace our ability to process them all, costing us innovation. Of the employees polled in Singapore, 69% of them indicated that they did not have enough time and energy to get their work done, compared to the 72% in APAC. Meanwhile, 82% of Singaporean employees agree that they do not have sufficient uninterrupted focus during their workday, compared to the 74% across APAC.

The lack of productivity can hamper innovation as every minute spent managing this digital debt is a minute not spent on creative work and strategic priorities, observes Microsoft. As it is, 70% of leaders in Singapore (compared to 65% in APAC) say they are concerned about the lack of innovation.

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“Technology has become integral to how we work and collaborate. As AI reshapes work, embracing the technology as our co-pilot is vital to building a resilient, digitally inclusive Singapore. Having AI as your co-pilot will be inherent to how we work – we need to ensure employees have the tools and skills to gain new core competencies and to do more with less,” says Shyamol Bansal, business lead for modern work at Microsoft Singapore.

Singapore is the fastest-growing market for AI talent in APAC

Singapore itself is the fastest-growing market for AI talent among the APAC markets studied by Microsoft.

According to data from LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, the share of AI talent between 2016 and 2022 surged by 565% in Singapore, outpacing countries like Australia (527%), India (487%) and Japan (334%).

The growth in AI talent hiring in Singapore also outpaced the growth in overall hiring by 14% in 2022. The data points towards Singapore as a leading hub for AI talent and innovation in the Asia Pacific region, says Microsoft.

Some of the fastest-growing AI roles in Singapore are algorithm engineers, data analysts, data science specialists and machine learning engineers.

More professionals in Singapore are also equipping themselves with AI skills with the five fastest-growing AI skills in Singapore being skills that are related to generative AI such as natural language processing (+52% y-o-y) and computer vision (+47% y-o-y). The skills identified are based on y-o-y growth in skills added to members’ profiles on LinkedIn.

“AI has ushered in a new era in the world of work, and in Singapore, we are excited of its possibilities with AI talent and hiring fast-rising. As AI continues to evolve and grow in importance, it is imperative that professionals build up their AI skills wallet to boost work productivity and creativity, and that businesses adopt AI capabilities to achieve better business outcomes,” says Frank Koo, head of Asia, talent and learning solutions at LinkedIn.

“By taking a skills-first approach, we have an opportunity to enable and empower a paradigm shift to AI as the co-pilot in the new way of work. We will continue to put generative AI into the hands of our members and business partners to help everyone more easily connect to economic opportunity,” he adds.

81% of employees polled in Singapore would rely on AI for work, says a Microsoft survey

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