Law Notify, January 15, 2026 : A new global study by enterprise software firm Workday has flagged a growing productivity paradox around artificial intelligence, showing that organisations are yet to unlock its real value despite rapid adoption.
The research, titled Beyond Productivity: Measuring the Real Value of AI, found that 85 per cent of employees save between one and seven hours a week by using AI tools. However, nearly 40 per cent of this time is lost to rework, including fixing errors, rewriting material, and checking AI-generated outputs. This, the report said, is creating a misleading sense of productivity across many workplaces.
The burden of rework is not evenly shared. Employees aged 25 to 34 make up 46 per cent of those facing the highest levels of AI-related corrections. Heavy users of AI tools also feel greater pressure, with 77 per cent of daily users saying they scrutinise AI-generated work as closely as, or more closely than, work produced by humans.
The study points to a widening gap between how quickly AI is being deployed and how slowly job roles and skills training are adapting. While 66 per cent of leaders say skills training is a top priority, only 37 per cent of employees dealing with the most rework report having access to such training. It also found that 89 per cent of organisations have updated fewer than half of their job roles to reflect new AI capabilities.
Companies are currently more inclined to reinvest AI-driven time savings into technology rather than people. About 39 per cent channel savings back into technology, compared with just 30 per cent who invest in employee training.
Commenting on the findings, Gerrit Kazmaier, President of Product and Technology at Workday, said many AI tools place the responsibility for trust, accuracy and reliability on individual users. He added that AI systems should manage complex tasks in the background, allowing employees to focus more on judgement and creativity.
The research also found that organisations seeing stronger results from AI treat time savings as a strategic asset. Employees in these organisations were more likely to receive skills training and to use saved time for strategic thinking, rather than simply taking on more routine work. – ANI
