• Project number: F 2573
• Institution: Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA)
• Status: Completed Project

Description:

Artificial intelligence (AI) is considered a key technology of digital transformation and is already shaping work processes, tasks, and skill requirements. Against this background, the second survey "Digitalisation and Change in Employment" (DiWaBe 2.0) was conducted in 2024 as a cooperation project between BAuA, ZEW, IAB, and BIBB. The aim was to empirically assess current developments in digitalisation and, in particular, the diffusion and impacts of AI in the world of work.

Building on the first DiWaBe survey from 2019, questions from core content modules were repeated to enable comparative analyses over time. At the same time, new topics such as AI-based technologies, virtual collaboration, and the extent to which environmental and climate protection are taken into account in everyday work, were integrated. Between July and December 2024, around 9,800 employees were surveyed using a mixed-mode design (computer-assisted web interviews/computer-assisted telephone interviews).

The results show that AI has found its way to the workplace in 2024: 62.1% of employees use AI applications, around 30.4% on an intensive basis. Usage is often informal, i.e., without formal organisational introduction, and varies substantially by qualification and occupation, with higher prevalence in knowledge-intensive fields. More intensive AI use is associated with more complex cognitive demands and greater autonomy, but also with increased work intensity and information load.

The dataset generated in the project will be further analysed in subsequent research projects and provides a basis for scientific analyses of digitalisation and AI use in the workplace