"Over the course of eight months and with the help of 40 "in-depth" interviews across engineering, product, design, research, and operations, the researchers found employees using AI tools increased both the work they could complete as well as the variety of tasks they could tackle-even when they weren't forced to adopt the technology. Yet, as employees' productivity increased, so did the amount of work they took on, in part because AI made it easy to begin tasks."
"Soon, some workers were using up what previously had been natural breaks during the day to prompt AI, eventually filling most of their time at the office with tasks. This type of implicit pressure paired with a lack of time to recharge could lead workers to be less productive, Rebecca Silverstein, a licensed clinical social worker and the program director at Brooklyn-based Elevate Point, told Fortune."
"When workers take up every part of their day with tasks and sacrifice their breaks, they give up the interpersonal relationships that are just as important to a person's work life as their actual work. People also need these breaks, either during the day or after work, to recharge and have the capacity to work effectively, she added. "Just focusing on that productivity mindset, in the long term, is super harmful for someone," Silverstein said."
At a 200-person U.S. tech firm, employees using AI tools completed more work and tackled a broader variety of tasks even without mandatory adoption. Increased productivity prompted employees to take on more work because AI made it easy to begin tasks. Natural breaks were repurposed to prompt AI, leading some workers to fill most of their office time with tasks. Implicit pressure and reduced recharge time undermined interpersonal relationships and risked diminishing long-term effectiveness. Regular breaks during or after work remain necessary for recharging and maintaining capacity to work effectively.
Read at Fortune
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