AI is changing the way we work, and the possibilities are bigger than simply saving a few minutes on admin tasks. From automating repetitive processes and uncovering insights in data to transforming recruitment, personalising employee experiences and helping teams make better decisions, businesses are already using AI in some genuinely impressive ways.
But as AI becomes more embedded in the workplace, the focus is shifting from what AI can do to how we can use it to create real value.

Workslop is defined as AI-generated content that looks great but lacks substance. It creates the illusion of progress with slick slides, lengthy reports and overly tightened summaries. But, rather than saving everyone time, it leaves colleagues to do the real thinking and clean up what has been presented to them.

Leaders are focused on the benefits of AI while some of their employees say that workslop has become a big problem, with a few saying they’re drowning in it. One company’s CEO had laid off several of their staff and mandated that remaining workers use AI chatbots, saying it would boost productivity. However, workers found that they were spending more time rewriting, correcting errors and resolving disagreements between each other’s chatbots than if they hadn’t used AI at all.

A member of staff said, “quality decreased significantly, time to produce a piece of content increased significantly and most importantly, morale decreased.”  They then went on to say that the company’s executives shifted the blame to staff when they pushed back about AI-fuelled productivity decreases. This experience reflects an emerging divide between staff and leaders when it comes to AI, a divide HR leaders must get ahead of. 

A recent survey of 5,000 white-collar workers highlights the divide. While 92% of high-level executives said AI makes them more productive, 40% of non-managers said it saves them no time at all.

Jeff Hancock, co-author of the study that coined the term “workslop” has said people are being told to use AI, often without direction or support. Hancock also believes that generative AI could provide tools that will help workers improve their efficiency, but it is the way it’s being incorporated which is having the opposite effect.

So, why is workslop increasing?

Analysis of workslop done by Deel shows that much of the increase can be traced back to poor implementation and insufficient training. The problem isn’t that employees are using AI. It’s that organisations are often measuring AI’s success by how much work it produces rather than the value of what it creates. AI removes friction, able to write faster, research easier and cope with repetitive tasks quicker than any human could. While this creates more output, most of this output requires human oversight, creating more work for employees.
The hidden cost of workslop isn’t just wasted time. There are several consequences which can affect everything from a business’s internal knowledge bank to how teams strategise. It can also lead to increased burnout among staff which can then lead to further problems such as decision fatigue and reduced productivity.

How can leaders avoid workslop? Some advice includes... 

1. Establish norms among the team – leaders need to have conversations with their teams around acceptable use of AI, generating ideas, editing comms and assisting with research and to make it clear that the quality of AI-assisted output is each person’s responsibility.
2. Create structured learning – dedicate regular time for AI experimentation, with people who specialise in each function who can provide structured sessions and share what works for them with others.
3. Lead by example – leaders need to model quality over speed. When executives use AI thoughtfully, showing their work and maintaining human judgment, they set organisational standards of what is acceptable to their teams.
4. Start by measuring outcomes, not output – the “less but better” approach is one most leaders already understand, but it can get lost among AI enthusiasm. For example, your marketing team can create ten times more blog posts, but is all the extra traffic converting to new customers?

HR plays a key role in maintaining work quality and protecting company culture.

There are some ways HR can address workslop:

• Set clear guidelines to define when and how AI should be used and when human judgement is needed. 
• Train employees on how to use AI effectively.
• Encourage transparency of AI usage to maintain trust across teams and leadership.
• Prioritise quality of work over how quickly you can get a task completed.
• Lead by example by using AI responsibly within HR practices, while preserving the human facing interaction where it really matters.
• Know what you want to gain from the use of AI. Not just speed or more information, you want to confirm with employees what they, the company and clients will gain

AI adoption alone doesn’t guarantee better performance. When user-friendly AI tools like ChatGPT first emerged, the focus was largely on driving AI adoption across teams and businesses. The value of AI depends on how thoughtfully it is introduced, how clearly its purpose is defined and whether people have the skills and support to use it effectively. For HR leaders, that means looking beyond how much AI can produce and asking a more important question: what value can it create? The value of AI isn’t simply doing more work, faster. It’s doing better work, making better decisions and giving people more time to focus on the things that humans do best.