Artificial intelligence was expected to make work easier and reduce workload. But new data suggest the opposite may be happening in many workplaces.
A study by workforce analytics firm ActivTrak found that AI tools are actually making work more intense for employees rather than reducing their workload.
The company analysed the digital work activity of about 164,000 employees and discovered a surprising shift in work patterns.
According to the study, workers are now spending more time on emails and messaging platforms, while the time spent on focused tasks such as problem-solving has dropped by about 9%.
Experts believe this change is happening because the time saved by AI tools is quickly being filled with other work responsibilities.
Gabriela Mauch, an executive at ActivTrak, explained that the extra capacity created by AI does not necessarily lead to less work.
“What typically happens is that the capacity AI frees up immediately gets repurposed into doing other work,” she said.
As companies rapidly adopt AI-powered tools for productivity, communication, and automation, employees are finding themselves handling more tasks rather than fewer.
The ActivTrak research is considered one of the largest studies so far examining how artificial intelligence is reshaping everyday work habits.
The findings suggest that while AI improves efficiency, it may also be changing the nature of work—making employees busier in new ways rather than reducing their workload.
