The AI Productivity Paradox: Why Your Best People Are Burning Out

A startling 77% of employees report that their workload and stress have increased since their organisations adopted AI

The promise was that artificial intelligence would free us from mundane work, but a new wave of research suggests it might be creating a burnout crisis, starting with the most enthusiastic adopters.

For the past few years, the prevailing narrative sold by the technology industry has been one of liberation. AI, we were told, would act as a force multiplier, making us more capable, more efficient, and ultimately, more indispensable. 

It was a seductive vision: the tools work for you, you work less hard, and everyone wins.

However, emerging evidence is beginning to paint a much more complex and, frankly, worrying picture. We feel the initial euphoria is giving way to a stark reality where the very tools meant to save us are pushing us to our limits.

The Burnout Machine in Action

A recent study published in the Harvard Business Review and highlighted by TechCrunch provides a compelling, ground-level view of this phenomenon. Researchers from UC Berkeley spent eight months inside a 200-person technology company, conducting over 40 in-depth interviews to understand what happens when employees genuinely embrace AI. 

The findings are a crucial wake-up call for any leader investing in AI.

At the company, no new targets were set, and no one was explicitly pressured to do more. Yet, the researchers observed a consistent pattern: as employees used AI, their workload organically expanded. The tools made more feel doable, and because it was possible, work began to bleed into lunch breaks and late evenings. 

To-do lists grew to fill every moment AI freed up and then kept expanding. As one engineer candidly told the researchers:

“You had thought that maybe, oh, because you could be more productive with AI, then you save some time, you can work less. But then really, you don’t work less. You just work the same amount or even more.”

This is not an isolated case. The sentiment is being echoed across the tech industry. On forums like Hacker News, professionals are sharing similar experiences of tripled expectations and stress, with only marginal gains in actual productivity. 

It appears that in the rush to prove the value of AI investments, organisations are inadvertently creating an environment of intense pressure and longer working hours.

The Three Waves of Work Intensification

The Harvard Business Review article delves deeper, identifying three distinct ways in which AI intensifies work, creating a cycle of escalating demands and cognitive strain.

1. Scope Expansion: AI lowers the barrier to entry for complex tasks. With AI as a ‘cognitive boost’, product managers are attempting to write code, and researchers are taking on engineering tasks. This blurs traditional roles and responsibilities, often leading to engineers spending more time reviewing and correcting AI-assisted work from their colleagues, adding to their own workload.

2. Work Extensification: The ease of prompting an AI makes it tempting to slip in ‘quick’ tasks during breaks, in meetings, or at the end of the day. The conversational nature of these interactions makes it feel less like formal work, but the cumulative effect is a workday with fewer natural pauses and a constant, low-level engagement with work. The boundary between work and non-work becomes porous, leading to a sense of ambient, ever-present work.

3. Work Intensification: AI enables a new rhythm of work where employees manage multiple active threads simultaneously. While this can create a feeling of momentum, it also leads to constant context-switching and a growing number of open tasks. This cognitive juggling act increases pressure and raises expectations for speed, creating a self-reinforcing cycle where AI accelerates tasks, which in turn raises expectations, leading to even greater reliance on AI.

The Illusion of Productivity

What is particularly alarming is that this increased activity does not always translate into genuine productivity gains. A separate trial found that experienced developers using AI tools actually took 19% longer on tasks, despite believing they were 20% faster. 

Another study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that AI adoption resulted in just a 3% time saving, with no significant impact on earnings or hours worked.

We feel this highlights a critical distinction between being busy and being productive. The initial excitement of using a new tool can create a powerful illusion of progress. 

However, without a clear strategy for how to leverage the time and capacity freed up by AI, employees are simply filling the void with more work, leading to a state of perpetual motion without meaningful advancement.

A Call for a New AI Practice

The solution is not to abandon AI, but to develop a more intentional and sustainable approach to its implementation. The researchers behind the Harvard Business Review study call for the development of an “AI practice” – a set of norms and routines that structure how AI is used, when it is appropriate to stop, and how work should and should not expand in response to newfound capability.

This requires a fundamental shift in leadership mindset. Instead of focusing solely on the productivity gains of AI, leaders must also consider the human cost.

This means actively managing workloads, setting clear boundaries, and fostering a culture where it is acceptable to disconnect. 

As Aruna Ranganathan and Xingqi Maggie Ye, the authors of the HBR article, state:

“Instead of responding passively to how AI tools reshape workplaces, both individuals and companies should adopt an ‘AI practice’: a set of intentional norms and routines that structure how AI is used, when it is appropriate to stop, and how work should and should not expand in response to newfound capability.”

The Future of Work in the Age of AI

The promise of AI was never just about doing more; it was about doing better. It was about freeing up human potential to focus on creativity, critical thinking, and strategic problem-solving.

We believe that to realise this promise, we must move beyond the simplistic narrative of AI as a productivity panacea. You must acknowledge the risks of burnout and work intensification and proactively design systems and cultures that prioritise employee wellbeing. 

The future of work in the age of AI will not be defined by the power of our tools, but by the wisdom with which we use them.

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All content reflects our personal views and is not intended as professional advice or to represent any organisation.