The Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2025 is based on responses from nearly 50,000 employees in 48 countries and regions.
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) refers to systems that can create content such as text, images or code.
PwC's report finds that globally around half of respondents are interested in AI, and 41 percent say they feel excited about the technology.
In Poland, 45 percent of workers say they used generative AI tools at least once in the past year, a lower share than the global average.
"Polish companies should invest in improving employees’ ability to use these technologies, otherwise we will lose our competitive advantage," said Katarzyna Komorowska, a partner at PwC Poland.
The study suggests many Polish workers are in a relatively solid financial position, and gradually increasing their use of AI.
More than 60 percent of respondents in Poland report that regular use of artificial intelligence has raised their creativity, improved the quality of their work and productivity, and helped them save time, according to Jakub Borowiec, a partner at PwC and leader of the Analytics and AI team in Poland.
Managers view technological change more positively than staff lower down in the organisation chart.
Among senior executives, 62 percent expect new technologies to affect their job, compared with 52 percent in middle management.
A large majority of leaders also say they understand their company’s long-term goals. This is the case for 74 percent of senior executives and 70 percent of managers, compared with 57 percent of employees below manager level.
Despite the optimism about technology, many Polish workers feel less positive about their future in their current organisation. Only 47 percent express optimism about their prospects with their present employer, six percentage points below the global average.
Komorowska said it is hard to point to one clear cause, but noted that trust in direct supervisors is relatively low.
Just 39 percent of Polish respondents say their immediate manager cares about their mental well-being, compared with 52 percent globally.
The report’s authors say this points to a growing need to strengthen "soft skills" among managers, such as communication, empathy and people management.
Access to career development also appears uneven. Worldwide, senior leaders are much more likely than non-managers to report that they have the resources they need to keep developing their skills.
According to the survey, 72 percent of senior executives and 66 percent of managers say they have such access, compared with 51 percent of employees below manager level.
Only 45 percent of non-managers say they acquired new skills that helped their career in the past year, against a global average of 56 percent, and 47 percent feel supported by their manager in developing their skills, compared with 59 percent globally.
Among Polish respondents, almost half, 49 percent, say they trust their manager, but this is still below the global average of 58 percent.
At the same time, 61 percent feel confident about keeping their job over the next 12 months and do not expect to lose their position.
Workers in Poland also report strong ambitions for the coming year.
Forty-five percent say they plan to ask for a pay rise and 33 percent intend to seek a promotion. Both figures are higher than the global averages of 37 percent and 32 percent respectively.
Yet promotions were less frequent in Poland over the past year. "The scale of promotions in the last year in Poland was five percentage points lower than the global average, 12 percent compared with 17 percent,” said Filip Kotarski, a director in the People and Organization team at PwC Poland.
The main body of PwC’s global report adds useful context to the Polish findings.
Across all 48 countries surveyed, 54 percent of workers say they have used AI in their jobs in the past year, and 14 percent report using generative AI tools every day at work.
Among those regular users, around nine in 10 say AI is already boosting their productivity and the quality of their work and expect further benefits in future.
Globally, workers are about twice as likely to say they feel curious or excited about AI’s impact on their jobs as they are to say they feel worried or confused.
At the same time, PwC notes that trust in management remains fragile worldwide: only about half of employees say they trust top leaders, and 58 percent say they trust their direct manager, even though those who have the highest level of trust in their manager are roughly 70 percent more motivated than those with the lowest trust.
The survey was conducted between July 7 and August 18 this year among 49,843 workers in 28 sectors.
PwC is a global professional services network that provides audit and assurance, tax and legal, transaction and business advisory services, including advice on technology and digital transformation.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP