
盡管亞洲經(jīng)濟體增長勢頭迅猛,,但正面臨著生產(chǎn)力停滯的困境,。該地區(qū)近年來的增長大多依賴增量投資,而非全要素生產(chǎn)率(即投入轉化為產(chǎn)出的效率)的提升,,樂觀來看,,生產(chǎn)力增速正在減緩;悲觀地說,,則已陷入衰退,。
即便在生產(chǎn)力尚處于上升態(tài)勢的地區(qū),其增速也難以企及美國等發(fā)達市場的領先企業(yè),。整個2010年代,,東南亞領先企業(yè)的生產(chǎn)力增速均低于全球平均水平。(反觀中國,,則成功實現(xiàn)了同步跟進,。)
“在幾乎所有亞洲市場,以國內生產(chǎn)總值與人均國內生產(chǎn)總值之比來衡量的生產(chǎn)力,,都呈現(xiàn)出停滯不前甚至下滑的態(tài)勢,,”Workday亞太區(qū)總裁西蒙·泰特指出,“我接觸到的每一位高管,,都對生產(chǎn)力問題憂心忡忡,,無論是源于人口老齡化、公共政策成效欠佳,,還是遠程辦公模式的興起,。”
以往,,亞洲企業(yè)解決生產(chǎn)力難題的方式頗為簡單直接:增加人力投入,。憑借廉價勞動力,,制造商和企業(yè)得以在不壓縮利潤的情況下實現(xiàn)擴張。
然而,,隨著亞洲經(jīng)濟體愈發(fā)富裕且面臨老齡化問題,,像過去那樣通過增加雇員來解決問題已難以為繼?!皠趧恿ψ浇笠娭?,”泰特表示,“僅靠增加人力已無法提升生產(chǎn)力,?!?/p>
讓年輕人主導
像泰特這類高管普遍認為,人工智能(尤其是“代理型人工智能”)具備提升生產(chǎn)力的潛力,。從理論上講,,這類新型人工智能能夠自主完成用戶定義的任務,使員工得以騰出時間投身于更具價值的工作,。
幾乎所有亞洲企業(yè)都表示希望采用這些新技術,。埃森哲(Accenture)2月的一項調查顯示,90%的亞洲企業(yè)計劃在未來三年內采用某種形式的代理型人工智能,。
然而,,真正應用這些人工智能模型卻是另一大挑戰(zhàn),,尤其是對于那些幾乎毫無人工智能使用經(jīng)驗,、更不必提及人工智能代理的年長高管來說。
泰特指出,,亞洲職場即將迎來五代人共事的局面,,涵蓋從嬰兒潮一代到最年輕的“阿爾法世代”(Generation Alpha)。
“阿爾法世代的數(shù)字素養(yǎng)將高于前四代人的總和,,”泰特表示,,并補充道,而如今的人力資源主管“完全沒有準備好”迎接這批精通人工智能的年輕勞動力,。
根據(jù)Workday最近的一份報告,,亞太地區(qū)約80%的Z世代員工期望工作場所配備最前沿技術,其中超三分之二的員工會將缺乏尖端技術視為負面因素,。
不過,,泰特認為,解決方案并非僅是給年輕員工提供在辦公室施展才華的空間,,他建議亞洲企業(yè)更進一步,,把年輕一代視為亟需的專業(yè)知識來源。
“當你審視亞太地區(qū)前100家上市公司董事會的構成情況時,,會發(fā)現(xiàn)董事會席位——甚至顧問委員會席位——仍主要由嬰兒潮一代和X世代占據(jù),,”他說道,,“二十多歲與三十多歲的成員占比近乎為零?!?/p>
泰特建議企業(yè)考慮推行“反向導師制”,,即讓年輕員工培訓年長同事如何高效應用新技術。正如千禧一代或Z世代創(chuàng)始人可能會邀請年長一代擔任董事會成員一樣,,泰特建議成熟企業(yè)考慮任命年輕成員,,借助他們在技術和商業(yè)領域的專業(yè)知識為企業(yè)賦能。
他說道:“我們總誤認為他們年紀尚輕,,提不出好想法,。如果你把一群聰慧過人且雄心勃勃的人聚在一起,給他們拋出一個問題,,他們定能憑借幫助解決問題來創(chuàng)造價值,。”(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
盡管亞洲經(jīng)濟體增長勢頭迅猛,,但正面臨著生產(chǎn)力停滯的困境,。該地區(qū)近年來的增長大多依賴增量投資,而非全要素生產(chǎn)率(即投入轉化為產(chǎn)出的效率)的提升,,樂觀來看,,生產(chǎn)力增速正在減緩;悲觀地說,,則已陷入衰退,。
即便在生產(chǎn)力尚處于上升態(tài)勢的地區(qū),其增速也難以企及美國等發(fā)達市場的領先企業(yè),。整個2010年代,,東南亞領先企業(yè)的生產(chǎn)力增速均低于全球平均水平。(反觀中國,,則成功實現(xiàn)了同步跟進,。)
“在幾乎所有亞洲市場,以國內生產(chǎn)總值與人均國內生產(chǎn)總值之比來衡量的生產(chǎn)力,,都呈現(xiàn)出停滯不前甚至下滑的態(tài)勢,,”Workday亞太區(qū)總裁西蒙·泰特指出,“我接觸到的每一位高管,,都對生產(chǎn)力問題憂心忡忡,,無論是源于人口老齡化、公共政策成效欠佳,,還是遠程辦公模式的興起,。”
以往,,亞洲企業(yè)解決生產(chǎn)力難題的方式頗為簡單直接:增加人力投入,。憑借廉價勞動力,,制造商和企業(yè)得以在不壓縮利潤的情況下實現(xiàn)擴張。
然而,,隨著亞洲經(jīng)濟體愈發(fā)富裕且面臨老齡化問題,,像過去那樣通過增加雇員來解決問題已難以為繼?!皠趧恿ψ浇笠娭?,”泰特表示,“僅靠增加人力已無法提升生產(chǎn)力,?!?/p>
讓年輕人主導
像泰特這類高管普遍認為,人工智能(尤其是“代理型人工智能”)具備提升生產(chǎn)力的潛力,。從理論上講,,這類新型人工智能能夠自主完成用戶定義的任務,使員工得以騰出時間投身于更具價值的工作,。
幾乎所有亞洲企業(yè)都表示希望采用這些新技術,。埃森哲(Accenture)2月的一項調查顯示,90%的亞洲企業(yè)計劃在未來三年內采用某種形式的代理型人工智能,。
然而,,真正應用這些人工智能模型卻是另一大挑戰(zhàn),尤其是對于那些幾乎毫無人工智能使用經(jīng)驗,、更不必提及人工智能代理的年長高管來說,。
泰特指出,亞洲職場即將迎來五代人共事的局面,,涵蓋從嬰兒潮一代到最年輕的“阿爾法世代”(Generation Alpha),。
“阿爾法世代的數(shù)字素養(yǎng)將高于前四代人的總和,”泰特表示,,并補充道,而如今的人力資源主管“完全沒有準備好”迎接這批精通人工智能的年輕勞動力,。
根據(jù)Workday最近的一份報告,,亞太地區(qū)約80%的Z世代員工期望工作場所配備最前沿技術,其中超三分之二的員工會將缺乏尖端技術視為負面因素,。
不過,,泰特認為,解決方案并非僅是給年輕員工提供在辦公室施展才華的空間,,他建議亞洲企業(yè)更進一步,,把年輕一代視為亟需的專業(yè)知識來源。
“當你審視亞太地區(qū)前100家上市公司董事會的構成情況時,,會發(fā)現(xiàn)董事會席位——甚至顧問委員會席位——仍主要由嬰兒潮一代和X世代占據(jù),,”他說道,,“二十多歲與三十多歲的成員占比近乎為零?!?/p>
泰特建議企業(yè)考慮推行“反向導師制”,,即讓年輕員工培訓年長同事如何高效應用新技術。正如千禧一代或Z世代創(chuàng)始人可能會邀請年長一代擔任董事會成員一樣,,泰特建議成熟企業(yè)考慮任命年輕成員,,借助他們在技術和商業(yè)領域的專業(yè)知識為企業(yè)賦能。
他說道:“我們總誤認為他們年紀尚輕,,提不出好想法,。如果你把一群聰慧過人且雄心勃勃的人聚在一起,給他們拋出一個問題,,他們定能憑借幫助解決問題來創(chuàng)造價值,。”(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
For all of their fast growth, Asia’s economies are grappling with stagnant productivity. Much of Asia’s recent growth is driven by greater investment, and not by improvements in total factor productivity, or in how efficiently inputs are turned into outputs. At best, productivity growth is slowing down; at worst, it’s declining.
And even where productivity is still improving, it’s not doing so fast enough to catch up to leading firms in developed markets like the U.S. Throughout the 2010s, leading firms throughout Southeast Asia grew productivity below the global average. (China, by comparison, managed to keep up.)
“In just about every Asian market, productivity as a measure of GDP divided by GDP per capita is stagnating or declining,” Simon Tate, Asia-Pacific president for Workday says. “Every executive that I talk to is worried about productivity,” whether due to aging population, poor public policy, or the rise of remote work.
In the past, Asian firms had an easy solution to the productivity problem: Just throw more people at the problem. Cheap labor allowed manufacturers and firms to expand without hurting margins.
But as Asia’s economies get richer and older, hiring more people is no longer the easy solution it used to be. “There are no more people,” Tate says. “There is no more productivity to be gained from just throwing people at the problem.”
Let the youth take over
Executives like Tate often argue that AI, particularly “agentic AI,” can help lift productivity. In theory, these newer forms of AI can autonomously carry out user-defined tasks, freeing up the human employee to do more.
Almost all Asian companies say they want to adopt these new technologies. A February survey from Accenture found that nine out of 10 Asian businesses were preparing to adopt some form of agentic AI in the next three years.
But actually putting these models into practice is another question, particularly for older executives with little experience working with AI at all, let alone AI agents.
Tate notes that Asia’s workplaces will soon be home to five different generations, spanning from boomers all the way through to the youngest workers, the so-called Generation Alpha.
“Generation Alpha will have a higher degree of digital fluency than the other four previous generations combined,” Tate says, adding that today’s HR officers are “not at all prepared” for the flood of AI-savvy young workers.
Around 80% of Gen Z workers in Asia-Pacific want to have the most modern technologies in their workplace, according to a recent report from Workday. Just over two-thirds of these workers would see the lack of cutting-edge technology as a negative.
But Tate thinks the answer is more than just giving younger employees the space to thrive in the office. He suggests Asian companies go one step further, and treat younger generations as a source of much-needed expertise.
“When you look at the make-up of boards of the top 100 public companies across APAC, board positions—even advisory board positions—are still very much made up of baby boomers and Gen Xers,” he says, with “close to zero” positions held by those in their twenties and thirties.
Tate suggests companies consider “reverse mentoring,” or getting a younger person to train up older cohorts in how new technologies can be best applied. In much the same way that a millennial or Gen-Z founder might ask someone from an older generation to serve as a board director, Tate suggests that established companies consider appointing a younger member of society to provide their own expertise on technology and business.
“We just falsely assume that they’re too young and they don’t have any good ideas,” he says. “If you put a bunch of really bright, super ambitious people in a room and throw a problem at them, they will add value in helping to solve it.”