A recent study analyzing 164,000 employees revealed an unexpected effect of AI tools in the workplace: instead of reducing workload, AI is making work more intense. Time spent on emails and messaging increased by over 100%, use of business software rose by 94%, and time for deep concentration dropped by 9%. The study found that faster task completion with AI leads employees and managers to take on more tasks, often including additional steps suggested by AI agents.

Interestingly, the optimal AI usage occurs when employees spend about 7–10% of their work time using AI, representing only 3% of users, achieving the best balance between productivity and overload.

(Source: WSJ, wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-isnt-lightening-workloads-its-making-them-more-intense-e417dd2c?mod=e2tw)