If you’re finding your workload increasing in 2025, you’re not alone.
A new EY survey of 15,000 employees found that nearly two-thirds of employees believe their workload has increased in the past 12 months.
Although AI is not the direct cause, as with most workplace trends today, it is a big part of the story.
“Our research doesn’t show that AI is actually increasing workloads,” Kim Billetter, global talent consulting leader at EY, told Business Insider.
Instead, she said widespread anxiety about AI in the workplace, including concerns about declining skills, lack of training, and uncertainty about how the technology will impact roles, is increasing pressure to perform.
“A combination of pressure, uncertainty and fear of falling behind has left many feeling limited,” Billetter said.
Training is particularly problematic, he added, as employees are often expected to develop new skill sets while continuing to fulfill existing responsibilities.
EY’s findings were reported in the latest edition of the Big Four’s Work Reimagined Survey, published in early November. The report is based on responses from 15,000 employees and 1,500 employers across 29 countries.
Perception is not a completely accurate measure of reality, but employee workloads may be increasing globally, Billetter told Business Insider.
“Economic pressures are likely to drive a ‘do more with less’ mentality, handling more tasks with fewer people. Role complexity is increasing as organizations move to a skills-based model, requiring employees to continuously learn while managing existing responsibilities,” she said.
On the AI front, poor integration and limited training can lead to temporary spikes in workload, she said.
As Business Insider recently reported, many workers in the U.S. are complaining about the growing flood of AI-generated junk, known as workflows, that is cluttering their workflows. An AI work slop may appear well-organized, informative, and professional, but it lacks substance and requires the recipient to do more work than the “slop.”
“Productivity Paradox”
Just because you’re using AI doesn’t mean you’ll be more productive, a disconnect known as the “productivity paradox.”
An EY survey found that 88% of respondents use AI in their work. However, most of its uses are limited to basic applications such as searching and document summarization. While these may save you a few hours here and there, they won’t change the way you work or the performance of your business, EY said.
Only 5% of respondents qualified as advanced users who derive far more value from AI by combining multiple tools and using AI as a thought partner rather than a simple tool.
Overall, EY found that companies are missing out on 40% of the AI productivity gains that could be achieved with the right strategy.
Addressing workload challenges and balancing the productivity paradox requires a focus on the human side of AI deployments, Billetter said.
Gaining an AI advantage “goes hand in hand” with the talent base, she said.
EY has identified five key areas, called the ‘Talent Advantage’, that companies need to combine with investments in AI tools: AI implementation excellence, learning, talent health, organizational culture, and reward structure.
“Simply investing in technology is not enough. The AI era requires the ability to build a strong human base and advanced technology in a synchronous and integrated manner to bring about meaningful transformation in the workforce,” Billetter said.
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