AI-enabled workplaces found to achieve higher ROI, innovation, and retention
BLUE BELL, Pa., Dec. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Unisys (NYSE: UIS) has released a new global report, “Unisys Digital Workplace Insights Report 2025: Performance Gaps and Winning Strategies,” which examines how organizations utilize AI-enabled digital workplace services to remain competitive amid economic uncertainty. The study surveyed 1,000 C-suite and IT executives across the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
The report reveals a widening performance gap: organizations that invest in employee-centric digital workplace services powered by AI — such as generative AI (genAI) — are twice as likely to exceed sales and revenue expectations, while those cutting back fall behind. The research also identified an elite group of more than 100 respondents, known as “Productivity Leaders,” who demonstrate that prioritizing AI-powered solutions and employee experience yields measurable business results, whereas “Late Adopters” struggle to keep pace.
The Payoff for Productivity Leaders – What the Data Reveals:
- Greater gains than Late Adopters in innovation (91% vs. 17%), improved cybersecurity defenses (98% vs. 42%) and ROI (99% vs. 41%).
- Exceed expectations for employee satisfaction and retention (91% vs. 31%).
- Believe genAI plays a critical role in business continuity during technology downtime (87% vs. 35%) and reduces IT workload (92% vs. 42%).
“The next generation of industry leaders won’t just adopt AI, they will deploy it in ways that empower employees and reinforce their business strategy,” said Patrycja Sobera, senior vice president and general manager of Digital Workplace Solutions at Unisys. “Thriving organizations combine smart AI investments with a deep understanding of employee needs. But AI alone isn’t enough – alignment across business and IT leaders is essential to sustain momentum and realize the full potential of digital workplace transformation.”
Leadership Divide Threatens Digital Success
IT leaders prioritize operational efficiency and are twice as likely as business executives to cite ROI, compliance and productivity as key outcomes. Business leaders, however, focus on employee productivity and highlight inconsistencies in digital workplace tools — only 32% say these tools work equally well for remote and in-office workers, compared to 67% of IT leaders. Views on genAI also diverge, with just under a third of business leaders considering genAI critical to reducing downtime, while 72% of IT leaders share the same view.
AI-Enabled Support Reduces Downtime and Eases IT Burden
Productivity Leaders know that genAI does more than deliver business outcomes — it transforms how organizations handle technology disruptions. AI-powered workplace systems reduce downtime, prioritize urgent tickets, and enable employees to return to work faster.
Unlike human teams, genAI operates 24/7 across time zones, responding instantly to outages to ensure continuity. Eighty-seven percent of Productivity Leaders say genAI is critical during downtime (vs. 35% of Late Adopters), and 92% report it reduces both downtime and IT workload — more than double Late Adopters’ rate.
These organizations also ease pressure on IT by embracing genAI (92% vs. 32%) and actively exploring agentic AI to boost support where needed.
Employee Experience: The Secret to AI Adoption
Technology forms the foundation of modern organizations, but employees remain at the heart of success. Productivity Leaders differentiate themselves by prioritizing employee needs when implementing AI-enabled solutions:
- 96% understand what employees want from technology, compared with 72% of Late Adopters.
- They are six times more likely to use experience-level agreements (XLAs) focused on human outcomes rather than traditional SLAs.
- 93% have processes for employee feedback on IT investments, compared with 34% of Late Adopters. This approach enables better outcomes: 91% of Productivity Leaders exceed expectations for employee satisfaction and retention.
Read the full report here.
About Unisys
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