New Factsheet: Shaping the Use of AI in the Workplace

A new factsheet with Birte Keller, Florian Kruse, and Frank Marcinkowski is now available on SocArXiv: “Shaping the Use of AI in the Workplace – Between Autonomous Use and Workload Reduction: Brief Report on a Conjoint Study.”

The report presents key findings from a conjoint study conducted in May 2026 as part of the Meinungsmonitor Künstliche Intelligenz (MeMo:KI) 3.0 project. The analysis examines the preferences of around 2,800 dependent employees in Germany regarding different design options for AI systems in the workplace.

The findings show that the assessment of AI systems is not determined solely by their technical performance. The strongest influence on preference formation is employees' autonomy in AI use: respondents prefer systems they can use at their own discretion, while mandatory use is clearly rejected. Effects on workload and the need for training are also important—employees prefer systems that reduce workload, or at least do not add to it, and that are accompanied by practical, time-limited training. Output quality, monitoring of AI use, and possible effects on social contacts also influence the choice between systems, but weigh less heavily in direct comparison. Overall, introducing AI in the workplace emerges as not only a technical task but also a matter of work and organizational design.

The report is available in English and German via SocArXiv. For further results and the project dashboard, see the MeMo:KI project page.