It's almost a cliche these days: jobs are changing, skills are changing, and technology, especially AI, is driving the bulk of the change.

And executives know it. If the directives to change are coming more and more quickly from your CEO's office, it's because your CEO is likely among the 70% who have already acknowledged the accelerating pace of workplace change and are doing something about it. Or if you are in Australia or India, your CEO is among the 80% cognisant.

This finding comes from LinkedIn's first Work Change Snapshot, a new analysis of workplace transformation that pulls together data from various studies including LinkedIn's Executive Confidence Index and Professional Sentiment Survey, and a Work Trend Index Survey conducted by independent research firm Edelman Data & Intelligence.

Other findings in the snapshot include the fact that over 60% of global executives are actively developing new skills within their organisations in response to the pace of change - again, 80% in Australia and India. We can look forward to new roles following. The snapshot also highlights, for contrast, that 10% of roles hired for this year didn't even exist in 2000. Once-rare and vaguely defined job titles like sustainability manager, AI engineer, and data scientist are now buzzwords in the world of work.

What's driving the pace of workplace change?

The answer is, unsurprisingly, AI. The Work Change Snapshot highlights that 70% of executives in India and Australia plan to prioritise AI technology and tools by 2025.

However, it's still questionable how that prioritisation will work out, as only 10% of global leaders consider their organisations to be leaders in AI adoption.

Some data also indicates that generative AI in particular is making an outsized impact on skills and skilling. In the APAC region, job roles that involve generative AI are expected to see 70% of skills change, as opposed to 52% in roles not involving it.

The general conversation around AI-related skills has in the last few years shifted away from technical skills and towards soft, 'human' skills. LinkedIn's snapshot does also highlight that employees proficient in generative AI are five times more likely to develop essential soft skills like creative ideation, design thinking, and emotional intelligence, and data from LinkedIn Learning indicates that some of the most popular courses across APAC cover topics such as problem-solving techniques, strategic thinking, and communication.

Who's using AI today?

83% of knowledge workers in the region, according to the snapshot.

Broken down by profession, some of the adopters who could benefit the most appear to be people who already have strong communication skills in certain areas, but need additional support either to round their skill sets out or simply to take the most time-consuming or low-value work off their hands.

One group is B2B marketers: according to LinkedIn's data, about 70% of B2B marketing leaders in the region are already applying generative AI to their work, largely for creating content.

Another group is B2B salespeople, 72% of whom are not highly confident about their future readiness. Most of this group are reportedly overwhelmed and confused by AI. But LinkedIn's data also suggests that AI could free up between 10-21.5 hours a week in administrative and research tasks for salespeople.