Overview

• Researchers coin “workslop” for AI-generated memos, emails and reports that look polished but lack substance and push cleanup onto coworkers.
• In a survey of 1,150 U.S. desk workers, 40% encountered such output in the past month and spent about 1 hour 56 minutes dealing with each instance.
• Back-of-the-envelope estimates put losses at roughly $186 per employee per month and more than $9 million annually for a 10,000-person organization.
• Recipients report annoyance, confusion and offense, about half view senders as less creative, capable and reliable, and 18% of AI users admit sending low-quality AI content.
• The study ties the problem to rapid, unguided adoption and urges guardrails, leader modeling and a “pilot” mindset, aligning with MIT findings that most AI pilots show no measurable ROI.