In the age of AI, 61.6% of respondents said managers’ roles are shifting from “managing operations” to “decision-making, talent development and organisational transformation,” while awareness is growing that time freed up through the use of AI should be allocated to strategic planning. At the same time, 57.2% of managers said they had felt a change in their roles.
As the use of AI spreads across companies, managers’ roles are changing particularly among those with 3 or more types of administrative work whose burden has been reduced. A total of 61.6% of respondents said managers’ roles are shifting from “managing operations and progress” to “decision-making, talent development and organisational transformation.” The task most often cited as having become less burdensome through the use of AI was preparing materials for meetings, followed by gathering and summarising information, preparing minutes, and compiling and analysing data.
The work most often cited as having become more important as a result of AI use was presenting policies and a vision, at 34.8%, followed by dialogue with subordinates and 1-on-1 meetings, as well as decision-making and setting priorities. The most common response, at 40.0%, was that time created by AI should be devoted to considering strategy and policies, followed by new businesses and planning, and dialogue with and development of subordinates.
In this survey, the more types of administrative work whose burden had been reduced by AI, the higher the proportion of respondents who felt that their roles had changed, reaching a maximum of 73.9% among those with the greatest reduction in burden. The survey covered employees in their 20s to 60s nationwide and was based on responses from 639 managers and leaders at section-manager level or above who had subordinates.