Nearly a Third of Gen Z Workers Conceal AI Use From Employers, Survey Finds

Nearly three in ten Generation Z employees use artificial intelligence tools at work without their employer's knowledge, according to research conducted by Imperial College London's Imperial Lifelong Learning division and reported by TechRadar Pro .

The findings illustrate the ongoing spread of unapproved workplace automation, commonly termed shadow AI, where staff independently introduce consumer-facing chatbots into their daily workflows. Despite large language models entering widespread commercial availability in 2022, corporate guidance and compliance frameworks have often failed to keep pace with employee experimentation.

Imperial Lifelong Learning's survey revealed that covert AI use is frequently accompanied by employee anxiety. Among Gen Z respondents, 35% reported feeling dishonest when using AI tools, while 26% expressed concern that managers or colleagues would be disappointed or view secret adoption unfavorably. While Millennial workers represented the cohort most actively using AI in their day-to-day responsibilities, Gen Z proved more likely to conceal it: 29% admitted to using AI without employer knowledge, an adoption rate 11% higher than that of Millennials and more than double that of Generation X.

The survey sampled workers across five sectors: engineering, financial services, technology, energy, and healthcare. Broad workplace apprehension extended beyond individual tooling, with 59% of respondents across the surveyed industries reporting a perceived skills gap in their sector.

Heather Haseley, Chief Lifelong Learning Officer at Imperial Lifelong Learning, pointed to widespread trepidation among UK professionals regarding how generative tools will reshape employment. Haseley noted that part of the reluctance to be transparent stems from higher education, where students often face severe disciplinary penalties for using AI, generating an uncertainty about permissible tool usage that follows them into the workplace.

The researchers concluded that addressing shadow AI requires employers to establish clear governance policies and operational guidance from an employee's first day, rather than leaving staff to navigate the line between productivity and dishonesty alone.