Staff Reporter
Published:
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Only 65% said they had access to the learning and development resources they needed.
Singapore workers are adopting artificial intelligence (AI) faster than their global peers, with 74% using AI at work in the past 12 months in 2026, up from 69% in 2025, according to PwC.
The Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2026 found that 72% of Singapore respondents said AI improved their work quality, whilst 63% said it enhanced their creativity. Another 32% said AI helped them perform some of the most complex and difficult parts of their jobs.
“Singapore's strong AI adoption is unsurprising given its position as a highly competitive economy and continued investments in AI upskilling,” the report said. “Workers are already seeing tangible benefits from AI, with many reporting improvements in work quality and creativity.”
Weekly and daily generative AI (GenAI) use at work rose from 41% in 2025 to 45% in 2026. Daily GenAI use reached 28% in Singapore, compared with 22% globally, whilst daily AI agent use stood at 12% and 10%, respectively.
Despite Singapore's lead in GenAI and AI agent adoption, organisations face barriers to wider workplace use. These include the need for accuracy and quality in high-impact processes such as financial analysis, risk analysis and accounting; unclear organisational guidelines that leave AI risk management decisions to individuals or teams; and reliance on individual initiatives or pilot projects instead of formal processes and workflows.
Organisations also need support systems and incentives to scale adoption beyond pilot projects and encourage employee upskilling.
AI use is more widespread outside work, with 84% of Singapore respondents and 79% globally saying they use AI outside the workplace. This suggests employees may already have basic AI skills and familiarity that organisations can build on through training and more complex workflows.
A total of 58% of Singapore respondents said they had experienced more change in the past year, whilst 45% found it difficult to manage change, compared with 42% globally.
Half of respondents said AI had increased their work complexity, whilst 46% said it had added to their workload. Another 62% said they were using more skills in their jobs.
Employees are adapting to new processes and technologies whilst managing existing responsibilities. Feeling fatigued or burned out was the top factor limiting productivity, with its reported incidence in Singapore 9 percentage points higher than globally.
AI taking over more tasks was the second-biggest threat to job security after economic volatility. A total of 53% of Singapore respondents viewed it as a moderate or major threat, compared with 44% globally.
Confidence in job security has also fallen. The proportion of Singapore respondents who were moderately to extremely confident about keeping their jobs over the next 12 months dropped from 84% in 2024 to 69% in 2026. Global confidence remained relatively steady over the past three years.
Confidence was higher among daily GenAI users, at 75%, than among respondents who had not used AI at work in the past year, at 61%.
Singapore workers are prioritising financial wellbeing and work-life balance over flexible work arrangements, learning and career opportunities amid rising costs and concerns about AI.
The proportion planning to seek a pay rise in the next 12 months increased from 50% in 2025 to 54% in 2026. Meanwhile, the proportion planning to change employers fell from 43% to 38%.
Pay and benefits ranked as the top job priority for 65% of Singapore respondents, compared with 57% globally.
Changes in responsibilities and team structures are creating new skill requirements. A total of 57% of Singapore respondents said their responsibilities had changed, whilst 56% reported changes to their team structure.
Government support and industry attention are accelerating AI adoption, with companies using external training and large-scale internal pilot programmes to upskill employees. However, workers continue to face challenges in identifying future skill requirements and accessing training.
Only 67% of Singapore respondents said they understood the skills they would need in the future, compared with 70% globally.
Access to learning and development resources was another concern. Only 65% said they had access to the resources they needed, compared with 70% globally. The rapid pace of change in job requirements can also make training programmes outdated quickly.
Despite these challenges, Singapore workers reported positive attitudes towards AI. A total of 71% said they felt energised by its increasing use at work, 74% felt empowered and 73% felt confident.
Singapore's strong foundation in AI adoption presents an opportunity to become a model for human-centric transformation,” the report said. "By investing in meaningful upskilling and development, organisations can help turn uncertainty into confidence, ensuring that technology amplifies human capability while workers feel secure in their evolving roles."
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