“On Wednesday May 8, 2024 Microsoft Corp. and LinkedIn released the 2024 Work Trend Index, a joint report on the state of AI at work titled, “AI at work is here. Now comes the hard part.” The research — based on a survey of 31,000 people across 31 countries, labor and hiring trends on LinkedIn, trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals, and research with Fortune 500 customers — shows how, just one year in, AI is influencing the way people work, lead and hire around the world. Microsoft also announced new capabilities in Copilot for Microsoft 365, and LinkedIn made free more than 50 learning courses for LinkedIn Premium subscribers designed to empower professionals at all levels to advance their AI aptitude. The data is in: 2024 is the year AI at work gets real. Use of generative AI at work has nearly doubled in the past six months. LinkedIn is seeing a significant increase in professionals adding AI skills to their profiles, and most leaders say they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills. But with many leaders worried their company lacks an AI vision, and employees bringing their own AI tools to work, leaders have reached the hard part of any tech disruption: moving from experimentation to tangible business impact.”…The report highlights three insights every leader and professional needs to know about AI’s impact on work and the labor market in the year ahead:

• Employees want AI at work — and won’t wait for companies to catch up
• For employees, AI raises the bar and breaks the career ceiling
• The rise of the AI power user — and what they reveal about the future…”