India’s workforce reimagined: Preparing organizations for talent reset

In brief

• The EY Work Reimagined Survey 2025 shows India leading global GenAI adoption — with 88% of employees using AI at work and 37% using it daily — accelerating productivity and changing how work gets done.
• India ranks highest globally on talent health (82%), anchored in strong culture, trust and empowerment, even as AI-driven work intensity rises.
• Structured AI learning and balanced rewards are key to engagement and retention, with AI skills directly linked to higher productivity and lower intent to leave.

Findings from the latest EY Work Reimagined Survey 2025 reveal that generative AI is moving from experimentation to everyday use, placing India among the leading markets in workforce transformation. Insights from 800 employees and 50 employers in India point to a resilient, engaged workforce, underpinned by a strong cultural foundation.

What stands out is not just the pace of change, but how employees are responding to it. High levels of trust, connection and empowerment suggest that many organizations are navigating this transition with intent. 

AI adoption and workforce impact

The scale of GenAI adoption in the workforce is unprecedented. Nearly 9 in 10 employees now use AI at work, with more than a third doing so daily. This widespread adoption reflects how deeply GenAI at work in India is influencing productivity, decision-making and output quality. For many organizations, AI is already embedded into core workflows, accelerating employee productivity with AI and reshaping how work gets done.

While AI enables efficiency gains, it has also contributed to rising workloads. A significant proportion of employees report that work intensity has increased over the past year, suggesting that AI is often layered onto existing roles rather than driving role redesign. At the same time, concerns about the AI impact on jobs remain. These dynamics underscore the importance of responsible AI governance. Although confidence in ethical AI use is high, employees consistently express more caution than employers around transparency, explainability, and data confidentiality. As AI becomes more widely used in workplaces, closing this perception gap will be key to sustaining trust.

Rewards and priorities

The findings reveal that rewards continue to play a central role in shaping employee experience in India. They contribute roughly 32% to India’s Talent Health score, reinforcing their importance in engagement and retention. Employees remain focused on fundamentals such as performance-linked pay, flexibility, cost-of-living aligned compensation, and wellbeing benefits. Employers, meanwhile, are increasingly prioritizing future-oriented offerings, including AI initiatives, alongside traditional rewards. 

Ultimately, the survey highlights a clear insight: the link between AI and talent health is undeniable. While technology may drive efficiency, it is culture, learning, and trust that determine whether transformation is sustainable.

The findings point to an Indian workforce that is engaged, adaptable, and increasingly confident about the future of work. However, sustaining talent health will require more than adoption alone. Employers that invest in capability building, communicate clearly on role evolution, and balance productivity with employee experience will be best positioned to build resilient, future-ready organizations.