This Mental Health Awareness Week, Matthieu Rouif, CEO and co-founder of Photoroom, discusses how AI can be a helpful tool to ease everyday stress – supporting people, not replacing them.
It’s no secret that younger generations are feeling immense pressure at work. Recent data reveals that over 1.2 million individuals under 25 in the UK are claiming sickness benefits – a number that’s increased by two-thirds in just five years, largely due to poor mental health. Even more concerning, one in four young people are now contemplating leaving the workforce entirely because of stress.
As Mental Health Awareness Week begins today, new findings from Photoroom – the world’s leading AI photo editing app with over 200 million downloads globally – suggest that AI could play a key role in alleviating some of this burden. Photoroom emphasises that, rather than replacing workers, AI should serve as a supportive tool – helping reduce stress, manage workloads more effectively, and ultimately improve overall wellbeing at work.
Photoroom’s research highlights the potential of AI to boost productivity and wellbeing, yet many businesses are slow to adopt it:
- 18% of workers believe productivity would improve with better use of AI.
- 15% of workers use AI daily, reflecting strong demand.
- However, only 1 in 6 UK businesses have adopted AI in daily operations:
- 68% of large companies
- 33% of medium-sized businesses
- 15% of small businesses
As stress and burnout continue to rise, AI is emerging as a potential solution to help ease the strain. AI has the potential to reduce stress and enhance productivity, and Matthieu Rouif, CEO and co-founder of Photoroom, believes businesses can better support employee mental health by integrating these tools into their operations.
Despite growing anxiety around AI, with Acas reporting that a quarter of employees fear job loss, Photoroom’s research reveals that workers are open to AI – provided it supports them, rather than replaces them. The real challenge, however, is the lack of proper training: two-thirds of employees would embrace AI if they knew how to use it, yet half report their employers offer no guidance.
Matthieu Rouif on AI as a tool for enhancing creativity and wellbeing in the workplace:
“AI is transforming the way people work, offering incredible tools to amplify creativity and expand their reach. But let’s be clear – AI doesn’t replace human creativity; it enhances it. At Photoroom, we believe AI is a creative partner, helping employees eliminate repetitive tasks and focus on what matters most: crafting compelling stories and experiences that connect on a human level. The future belongs to those who harness AI to push the boundaries of imagination and audience engagement.”
Photoroom is the world’s leading AI photo editing software, empowering entrepreneurs and small businesses to level up their marketing through the use of AI image editing, allowing them to compete with corporations with large marketing budgets. Their data has also highlighted that 30% of workers want to grow their business, but cannot afford to market it effectively. As a tool for creating and editing image assets, Photoroom allows users to create high-quality marketing imagery for a fraction of the cost.
