UK employees are the most likely among four European markets to use artificial intelligence at work, according to new research from Personio. The study found that 26% of UK employees use AI without their employer's knowledge.
The findings come from Personio's Workforce Pulse survey of 6,000 employees and 3,001 HR decision-makers across the UK, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. In the UK, 42% of employees said they use AI in their role, the highest share among the four markets.
The data points to a gap between employee behaviour and employer oversight. Across all four markets, 23% of employees said they use AI without their employer's knowledge, while only 31% said their organisation provides adequate AI support, down five percentage points from a year earlier.
Use of unsanctioned tools also appears to overlap with workforce churn. Across the four markets, employees who use AI without their employer's knowledge were more likely than non-users to be looking for a new role, by 67% to 42%.
Mixed views
UK employees showed both strong interest in AI and high levels of concern about its effect on jobs. The survey found that 42% of UK employees are excited about AI's potential, second only to Spain at 46% and above the four-market average of 40%.
At the same time, 30% of UK employees said they fear losing their jobs to AI. That matched Spain and was above Germany at 21% and the Netherlands at 20%. Across all four markets, a quarter of employees shared the same concern.
The results suggest adoption has moved faster than governance. Personio's figures indicate that employees have started using AI tools widely even where formal structures, training and visibility remain limited.
"Internally at Personio, we've seen scepticism about AI fall once everyone has access and can use the technology themselves," said Jordan Farry, Country Manager, UK & Ireland, at Personio.
"Everyone got access to the most advanced tools, and we prepared them with training on how to use them well. People got started and built really good agents and automations that the whole company benefits from today. Access and training were only the starting point, and the work continues," Farry said.
HR adoption
Among UK HR leaders, the survey found broad use of AI in HR processes but limited integration with underlying workforce information. Nine in 10 UK HR leaders said they use AI in their HR processes, but only 16% said it is deeply integrated with their people data.
That was slightly ahead of the wider sample, where 89% of HR leaders said they use AI in HR processes and 14% said it is deeply integrated with people data. Only 21% across the four markets said that data is largely complete and accurate.
Data quality emerged as a major issue for HR teams trying to use AI in decision-making. HR teams with incomplete or inaccurate data were eight times more likely to say AI fell short of expectations. Meanwhile, 65% of HR leaders said they had made an important decision in the past 12 months without fully trusting their data.
"UK employees have taken to AI quickly, and HR has followed: nine in ten organisations use it. But that is only skin-deep: just 16 per cent have it deeply integrated with their people data. When one in four people use AI out of sight, HR makes decisions without the full picture. The most effective response is an HR team that has proper oversight and provides the right training. AI transformation is a people business," Farry said.
Trust and clarity
The research also examined how transparency over data use affects employee attitudes at work. Across the four markets, 64% of employees who said they always receive a clear explanation of how their data is used in decisions reported high motivation.
That compared with 31% of those who said they rarely or never receive such explanations. Trust in HR showed a similar divide, with 40% of the first group saying they trust HR to a great extent, compared with 15% of the second.
Employees who were given clear explanations also said they felt more productive and were more likely to stay in their jobs. The findings suggest that as AI use spreads in workplaces, employers face growing pressure to pair adoption with clearer rules, stronger data practices and more visible support for staff.