Marketplace Tech AI "workslop" is hurting coworker dynamics
Oct 8, 2025
AI-generated 'workslop' is creating chaos in workplaces, with 40% of workers encountering poorly crafted reports and emails. This leads to confusion and can damage team dynamics. A study estimates that this sloppiness costs organizations around $9 million annually. Experts suggest the importance of thoughtful AI integration, emphasizing human communication and empathy. Practical tips include fostering AI literacy and experimentation, while 'pilot' initiatives can drive positive adoption of AI tools.
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Workslop Harms Workplace Relationships
- Workslop is AI-generated but sloppily crafted workplace content like reports and emails that creates confusion about how to respond.
- Kate Niederhoffer says it harms interpersonal work relationships by forcing recipients to decide whether to rewrite, ask for revision, or accept lower-quality work.
Quantify Workslop’s Financial Impact
- Measure the time cost of handling workslop and convert that into organizational cost to make the problem visible.
- The study estimated about $9 million per year in lost productivity for a 10,000-person company based on time, prevalence, and salaries.
Protect Human Communication When Using AI
- Treat AI as a mediator of human-to-human communication and preserve effort in documents because people receive them.
- Foster psychological safety so employees can experiment with AI without relying on it as a shortcut and to reduce workslop.