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Fast Company
04-07-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Employees are crashing out all over TikTok. Here's why
Work-related stress is on the rise. And to quote Gen Z, who loves some dramatic verbiage, the overwhelm has employees totally 'crashing out.' Crashing out can look like having a full blown freak out (think: losing it at a coworker, crying at your desk, or screaming in your car) or simply feeling internally unhinged and saying quietly to yourself 'I'm crashing out. I'm crashing out so hard right now.' On TikTok Gen Z is crashing out over the big and small. (Think their dog eating their new Nike kicks.) However, one of the most common trends is crashing out over work. And while the videos are very often all in good fun and usually hilarious, that doesn't mean that work-related pressure isn't a very real issue. According to a new report with data from 2,000 full-time employees, there are definitely good reasons to be crashing out. Research from Owl Lab's 2024 State of Hybrid Work Report finds 43% of workers say their work stress has increased in just one year. Furthermore, 89% say there has been no improvement in their troublesome work-related stress from the previous year. What is everyone crashing out about? Unfair compensation For starters, a good chunk of workers (22%) don't feel fairly compensated, per the report. Many employees are 'polyworking,' or working an additional job. Over a fifth (22%) of employees have another job in addition to their full-time job. Shockingly, this number is higher for managers: almost a third (32%) have another job. Unsurprisingly, managers' stress levels are 55% higher than nonmanagers'. Not enough flexibility Employees are also over having to go to the office, mainly, because it doesn't feel necessary to them. Half of workers feel that when they are forced to go into work it is only to 'fill a seat.' Likewise, most workers (84%) say working from home gives them the ability to eat healthier meals. They also have to spend less money on food and parking. Hybrid workers report spending an average of $61 when working from the office versus working from home. Flexibility is majorly important to workers: 41% say if they lost their hybrid work privileges, they'd look for a new job. Office politics One major reason why employees don't want to come into the office, aside from getting to work from the comfort of home, is political differences. Nearly half (45%) of U.S. workers said their colleagues' political views have them wanting to stay home. While older generations are less likely to air their grievances online, Gen Z leans in. Overall one in three workers (34%) has posted something negative about their job or employer. However, nearly half (48%) of Gen Z employees have. And with that, crashing out has entered the chat.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Almost 7 in 10 companies now use AI for work, survey finds
This story was originally published on HR Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily HR Dive newsletter. AI has become integrated into most workplaces, with nearly 67% of companies using it for work-related purposes, according to a recent survey of 1,000 full-time knowledge workers by workplace technology platform OwlLabs in partnership with Pulse. Nearly half (46%) of the survey's respondents said they're either heavily using AI at work or somewhat reliant on it, OwlLab CEO Frank Weishaupt reported in a May 8 post. They also said they've used AI mostly for administrative tasks like scheduling and calendar management (35%), crunching data (33%), and writing up content like emails and reports (30%), the survey found. Additionally, almost a quarter (24%) of knowledge workers said their employers are strongly supportive of using AI and are supplying tools, training and clear guidelines, according to the survey. OwlLab's findings signal a major shift from last year, most notably that employers are now actively encouraging employees to use AI, Weishaupt said. Only 4% of knowledge workers said AI use is discouraged, according to the survey. While AI is helping employees get more done, as Weishaupt observed, it may also come with issues employers should be prepared to address, recent studies indicate. Having clear corporate policies on AI use and making sure employees understand them is a must for helping to keep these issues at bay, a KPMG study released in April emphasized. For example, although 67% of employees who responded to a KPMG survey said they're using AI to enhance productivity, 57% admitted to making mistakes in their work due to AI errors, and 44% 'knowingly used it improperly' at work. About half said they use AI without knowing whether it's allowed, and another 46% admitted to uploading sensitive company data to public platforms. A March report from AI vendor Writer and research group Workplace Intelligence pointed to a deeper problem. The study found that most executives say generative AI adoption is creating conflict and friction within their organization. This friction has led to division between IT teams and other lines of business, as well as between executives and employees, which 'demand robust change management, improved vendor quality, and enhanced collaboration between IT and other departments,' Writer's chief strategy officer stated. Employers may also want to keep an eye on how employees use AI during training, a January report from ed-tech firm Moodle suggested. More than half of U.S. employees told Moodle they use AI-related tools to complete mandatory workplace training, including to answer difficult questions they unsure of (21%) and help them with certain parts of questions (19%). Additionally, 12% said they even let AI tools take the entire training for them, the study found.
