While (Gen)AI is rewiring the future of work, Belgian employees seem more reluctant to embrace it
Diegem, 12 November 2025 – Workers who used (generative) AI daily over the last year report being more productive, and seeing higher job security and pay. But findings from PwC’s latest Annual Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey also show Belgian employees are more insecure and less optimistic when it comes to AI. The survey - one of the world’s largest - taken from 49,843 employees worldwide and 1,020 in Belgium shows how co-creating the future with their people will help leaders to keep their workforce motivated.
To assess employee expectations in the workplace worldwide, professional services provider PwC conducts a global ‘Hopes & Fears’ survey every year to gather feedback – both positive and negative – from employees on a wide range of themes. Given the vast increase of (Gen)AI’s impact on our way of life, it seems natural that the survey zooms in on its consequences for the workforce.
This year’s global and local findings – based on interviews with nearly 50,000 workers globally across 48 major economies and 28 sectors - reveal a mix of optimism and concern among employees. There is optimism as to the potential positive impact of (Gen)AI on the way of working, especially among active users. But there is also concern where it relates to the clarity of vision, the ability for upskilling, or creating an environment of trust and safety in the workplace, as many employees feel overwhelmed by the rapid developments around (Gen)AI. Belgian respondents are notably more pessimistic than the global and European averages, but then they are also using (Gen)AI less in their day-to-day activities.
(Gen)AI proves its value to users
Compared to infrequent users, daily users of (Gen)AI are more likely to have seen tangible benefits to productivity (92% v 58%), job security (58% v 36%), and salaries (52% v 32%). They are also more likely to be optimistic about the impacts of (Gen) AI across these and every other benchmark surveyed.
Yet only 14% of respondents are using (Gen)AI daily, and only half (54%) say they have used AI for their role in the past 12 months, although usage is higher with office employees (19%) versus only 5% for manual workers. In Belgium, the numbers are even lower, with only 9% using generative AI tools on a daily basis, and 45% having used (Gen)AI for their role in the past 12 months. The survey also finds that daily (Gen)AI users are far more optimistic about the future of their roles over the next 12-months (69%) relative to infrequent (51%) and non-users (44%).
“Employees using (Gen)AI every day are clearly starting to reap the rewards – better job satisfaction, higher productivity, greater job security and better pay. But to scale these benefits, businesses must go beyond training. Work itself needs to be redesigned and the human–machine partnership redefined. Getting this right will determine whether (Gen)AI becomes a true engine of growth and inclusion, or a missed opportunity.” » Patrick Boone, Chairman PwC Belgium
Leaders should try to co-create the future to keep the workforce motivated
The survey shows that leaders have big opportunities to unleash motivation and accelerate reinvention and growth.
“With over 70% of daily (Gen)AI users expecting major job impacts from the technology and being largely optimistic about its potential, when involving their people leaders will be able to augment their capabilities, redesign their way of working, revisit roles and responsibilities, and much more, resulting in accelerated innovation and increased productivity.” – Axel Smits, Workforce leader PwC Belgium
New to this year’s survey is the use of statistical methods to explore motivation as the fuel for innovation, reinvention and growth. The results illustrate that in order to tap into the potential, workplaces need to build trust, nurture skills, offer meaningful work, strategic alignment and psychological safety. Taken together, these findings suggest that leaders should co-create the future with their people and highlight six key actions that can help them to get started:
- Acknowledge the uncertain future: job security is an important motivator and today’s uncertainty is a big challenge. So acknowledge the uncertainty
- Address trust gaps: workers who trust their employer are 72% more motivated
- Inspire with a clear vision of the future: workers who feel most aligned with leadership goals are 78% more motivated
- Create skill pathways: workers who feel supported to upskill are 73% more motivated
- Motivate to innovate and reinvent: employees who feel safe to speak up, experiment and learn from failure are up to 72% more motivated
- Treat security and pay as core motivators: workers under financial pressure who feel insecure are less trusting, motivated or candid
“There is little doubt that (Gen)AI will rewire the future of work. Companies will go through a complete workforce transformation and will move towards a more data driven workplace and culture. To keep their key talent motivated, leaders should develop programmes which allow their people to contribute to the future of their organisation and provide them with all the tools – both technological and others – to allow them to adapt and be successful. Considering today’s limited uptake of (Gen)AI as a sign that it is ok to wait and see, would be a very unfortunate error of judgment.” Axel Smits, Workforce leader PwC Belgium
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