One in three Aussie workers admit to sneaky habit that could get them sacked

One in three Australian employees have confessed to a sneaky AI habit that could cost them their jobs – and some businesses are already onto them.

Data from Employment Hero reveals 34 per cent of workers admit they use AI tools without their company’s knowledge.

Most large organisations provide employees with access to approved AI tools for use in the workplace, and a clear AI use policy to guide how they use it.

This is to ensure employees don’t risk breaching privacy, confidentiality, and governance policies by entering sensitive data into publicly available AI tools, which may not be secure.

Despite the risks, nearly half of businesses said they are aware of employees using personal AI accounts like ChatGPT to work on sensitive data without an official company licence or policy.

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About 11 per cent of businesses said it’s a big problem at their workplace, and 32 per cent said it’s a small problem.

Dr Giuseppe Carabetta, associate professor of workplace and business law at the University of Technology Sydney, told nine.com.au workers that use AI tools without their employer’s knowledge or use personal AI tools could be fired.

“The short answer is yes, employees can be disciplined – and in some cases dismissed – for inappropriate AI use,” he told nine.com.au.

“The legal issue is usually not using AI, but how it is used and whether that use breaches workplace obligations, whether in an express policy or not.”

Using AI tools without your employer’s knowledge could open you up to allegations of breach of confidentiality, misuse of personal information, and breach of cybersecurity requirements.

It may also be a breach of your workplace AI use policy.

There’s no ‘get out of jail free’ card if your employer doesn’t have a formal AI use policy either.

“An AI policy [...] makes expectations clearer, but employees do not suddenly become free to disregard other workplace obligations just because no dedicated AI policy exists,” Carabetta said.

The same risks apply to employees who use unapproved personal or public AI tools to do their work.

“When employees use personal or similar AI accounts for work tasks [...] the organisation often has no visibility over what information is uploaded, where it is stored, and who can access it later,” Carabetta said.

Serious breaches could result in disciplinary action or even get an employee fired.

It’s wise to be transparent about using AI at work, keep records of how you use AI, and never put sensitive work information into public AI tools.

“A prudent employee should use employer-approved AI tools wherever possible and never upload confidential, client, financial, HR or commercially sensitive information without approval,” Carabetta said.

“Use AI as an assistant, not as an unsupervised substitute for professional judgment.”

AI use has exploded in Australian workplaces over the last 12 months, with many Aussie employees reporting it has had a positive impact.

Three quarters said it has boosted their productivity, 74 per cent said it improved the quality of their work, and 61 per cent said it helped them develop more valuable skills.

However, close to half admit using AI to do parts of their job feels like cheating.

James Keene, Employment Hero APAC managing director, told nine.com.au that even though more Aussies are adopting AI at work, there’s still some tension around it.

“Many employees using AI regularly feel a sense of guilt about it, like they shouldn’t be using AI, or that it’s ‘cheating’, even when it’s helping them do better work.”