“Workslop”: how AI-generated content is costing orgs money and harming collaboration
Workslop — AI-generated content that looks professional on the surface, but ultimately lacks substance — is damaging productivity and eroding trust between colleagues.
Research shows that, in the past month, 40% of workers had to undo a colleague’s workslop, with a typical workslop encounter taking nearly two hours to deal with.
Apply that across a 10,000-person org and you’re left with £7 million in annual losses. Little surprise, then, that 95% of orgs have yet to see any measurable ROI from AI adoption.
What’s more, recipients of workslop say they see colleagues who sent it to them as less capable, less creative and less trustworthy.
The workslop problem is one of the issues covered in the October 2025 IC Trends Report from the Institute of Internal Communication.
The authors’ advice for businesses planning to adopt AI? Avoid blanket mandates and provide employees with clear guidance on how and when to use AI.
Other trends identified in the report include a shift towards more nature-friendly business practices, the rise of the secret side hustle, and the burgeoning burnout crisis that’s particularly acute among middle managers.
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