Key findings
- 63% of employees who use AI say they are now expected to complete more work (12% significantly more, 51% slightly more).
- 3% say they are expected to complete less.
- 43% of employees say AI saves them time but means they are expected to do more. 20% say it saves time and reduces their workload.
- 56% of business leaders say AI has increased productivity in their business.
Does AI reduce workload?
For most employees, no. We asked employees who use AI at work what impact it has had on the amount of work they are expected to complete. 63% say they are expected to do more: 12% significantly more and 51% slightly more.
A further 23% say expectations haven't changed. Just 3% say they are expected to complete less work, and 11% don't know or haven't thought about it.
For every employee who says AI has lowered what is expected of them, 21 say it has raised it.
Six in ten employees who use AI are expected to do more work
Overall, what impact has using AI had on the amount of work you are expected to complete?
- Significantly more work 12%
- Slightly more work 51%
- It hasn’t changed 23%
- Less work 3%
- Don’t know / haven’t thought about it 11%
View data
| Answer | % |
|---|---|
| Significantly more work | 12% |
| Slightly more work | 51% |
| It hasn’t changed | 23% |
| Less work | 3% |
| Don’t know / haven’t thought about it | 11% |
Does AI save employees time?
It does, but the time rarely comes back to them. Asked which statement best describes how AI affects their working life, the most common answer among employees is "it saves me time but means I'm expected to do more", chosen by 43%.
One in five (20%) say AI saves time and reduces their workload. Another 18% say it improves the quality of their work without saving much time, and 8% say it creates extra work checking or correcting what it produces. Only 1% say AI makes their job harder, and 8% don't use it for work.
AI saves employees time. Most of them don’t get it back
Which best describes how AI currently affects your working life?
View data
| Answer | % |
|---|---|
| It saves me time but means I’m expected to do more | 43% |
| It saves me time and reduces my workload | 20% |
| It improves the quality of my work but doesn’t save much time | 18% |
| It creates extra work checking or correcting its output | 8% |
| It has had little impact | 2% |
| It makes my job harder | 1% |
| I don’t use AI for work | 8% |
How do business leaders see it?
As a productivity gain. More than half of business leaders (56%) say AI has increased productivity in their business: 35% significantly and 21% somewhat.
A further 18% say AI improves quality without materially increasing productivity, and 10% say it hasn't had much impact. Only 9% say it has created additional work or costs, and 2% say it has reduced productivity. One in twenty (5%) say their business doesn't currently use AI.
Most business leaders say AI has increased productivity
Which best describes how AI currently affects your business?
View data
| Answer | % |
|---|---|
| It has significantly increased productivity | 35% |
| It has somewhat increased productivity | 21% |
| It improves quality but hasn’t materially increased productivity | 18% |
| It hasn’t had much impact | 10% |
| It has created additional work or costs | 9% |
| It has reduced productivity | 2% |
| We don’t currently use AI | 5% |
Put the two views together and the picture is consistent. Leaders see more output. Employees report being asked for more output. The productivity gain is real, and it is arriving as a longer to-do list.
What this means for employers
The story most businesses tell about AI is that it frees people up. The people using it describe something else: the time is saved, then spent again.
That gap matters for anyone writing an AI policy, an internal comms plan or an employer brand campaign. If the message is "AI gives you time back" and the experience is "AI gave me more to do", the message will not be believed.
Three questions worth asking inside your own organisation:
- Where does the time AI saves go, and who decided that?
- Have workload expectations changed since AI tools were rolled out, and has anyone said so out loud?
- Do leaders and employees give the same answer to the first two questions?
Frequently asked questions
Does AI reduce employee workload?
Not for most. In The Reality Department's polling, 63% of employees who use AI say they are expected to complete more work as a result, and 3% say they are expected to complete less.
Does AI save time at work?
Yes. 63% of employees say AI saves them time. But 43% say that time comes with an expectation to do more, against 20% who say their workload has fallen.
Has AI increased productivity for businesses?
56% of UK business leaders say AI has increased productivity in their business, including 35% who say it has done so significantly. 2% say it has reduced productivity.
Methodology
The Reality Department surveyed 500 nationally representative UK consumers and 250 business leaders. Fieldwork: October 2026. The workload question was asked only of employees who use AI at work. Figures may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
Related: Who should benefit from the time AI saves?
Want to know what your own audience thinks? Work with us.
Free to quote with a link to this page. Need the full data tables? Ask us.
Running research of your own? See whether it's getting the attention, engagement and action it deserves. Take the free Research Impact Scorecard →