One in three UK workers would expect higher pay if their employer used AI to deliver significant productivity gains or cost savings, according to a study from insurance group Howden.
The survey covered more than 2,000 employees. Howden calls the idea an "AI dividend": a share of the gains passed to staff rather than kept by the company. Beyond pay, respondents named shorter working hours (16%), greater job security (15%) and a bonus (13%). The study found general acceptance of AI, provided the benefits are shared.
The worries are more concrete than the wish list. About half (49%) fear they will be expected to do more work because of the time AI saves, and 50% fear it could soon be used to assess their performance. Half also worry AI will be introduced faster than they can understand it, and 53% say they will not have time to learn new skills on top of their existing workloads. Howden said access to training is not enough on its own; workers need dedicated learning time.
Read together, the numbers suggest a modest ask and a larger fear. A third want pay tied to AI gains, while roughly half expect their workload to grow. The dividend looks less like a demand for a windfall than a request that productivity gains not be quietly converted into more output for the same salary. The study measures what workers expect, not what employers have offered.
The UK Government has set out plans to upskill 10 million workers in AI by 2030, though uptake has reportedly been low. Howden's Cheryl Brennan, managing director of its employee benefits and wellbeing arm, wrote that the findings show a "misalignment in expectations" and called for "dialogue and action regarding pay, progression and transparency".
A national training target speaks to skills, not to who keeps the gains, which is the question this survey puts to employers.