SEOUL, June 16 (AJP) - Reflecting the rapid transformation trend that is sweeping across various kinds of workplaces globally, eight out of ten workers in South Korea fear being left behind in the era of artificial intelligence, a report by the global software and technology company Microsoft showed on Monday,
The report, Microsoft's 2026 Work Trend Index, based on a survey of 20,000 workers from 10 countries, highlights what Microsoft describes as a "transformation paradox." Workers are ready for AI-driven change, but corporate structures, management practices and incentive systems remain largely unchanged.
According to the report, 78 percent of Korean workers said that they worry about being left behind if they do not adapt to using AI, significantly higher than the global average of 65 percent. Among the countries surveyed, only Brazil recorded a higher figure at 79 percent.
Yet confidence in corporate leadership was far weaker.
Only 16 percent of Korean respondents said management provides a clear vision for how AI should be used within the organization, compared with a global average of 26 percent. 7 percent said employees are rewarded for using AI to improve their work, roughly half the global average and the lowest among major economies surveyed.
The figure trailed Japan at 8 percent, Germany and the Netherlands at 10 percent, and the United States at 15 percent.
The disconnect suggests many employees feel pressure to adopt new technologies while continuing to be evaluated under traditional performance frameworks.
Other findings pointed to a similar reluctance to embrace change.
About 43 percent of Korean respondents said maintaining existing goals and work processes feels safer than experimenting with new approaches, indicating that employees may see little incentive to take risks despite growing expectations to innovate with AI.
Microsoft said organizational factors such as workplace culture, management support and talent development policies account for 67 percent of successful AI adoption outcomes, more than double the impact of individual motivation and skills, which represented 32 percent.
The report argues that companies achieving the greatest gains from AI are not simply deploying new tools but systematically embedding employee experiences and best practices into broader organizational workflows.
Among Korean workers, the top 12 percent of employees who use AI most extensively were found to treat AI less as a productivity tool and more as a collaborative partner, redesigning workflows and decision-making processes around the technology.
However, the figure remains below the global average of 16 percent.
Looking ahead, the company expects AI agents to handle more routine and repetitive work, leaving human workers to focus on judgment, verification and setting priorities.
The survey was based on responses from 20,000 knowledge workers across 10 countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, India, Australia, Brazil and the Netherlands, supplemented by additional research conducted in South Korea.
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