tech
February 10, 2026
The first signs of burnout are coming from the people who embrace AI the most
Because employees could do more, work began bleeding into lunch breaks and late evenings. The employees' to-do lists expanded to fill every hour that AI freed up, and then kept going.
TL;DR
- The prevailing narrative is that AI will save workers from their jobs by acting as a force multiplier.
- A study by UC Berkeley researchers observed a tech company for eight months to understand the impact of AI adoption.
- Instead of working less, employees who embraced AI found their to-do lists expanded, leading to work bleeding into breaks and evenings.
- Employees reported working the same amount or even more, with expanded expectations and increased stress.
- Previous studies also indicated minimal productivity gains from AI, with no significant impact on earnings or hours worked.
- The new findings suggest AI augmentation leads to fatigue, burnout, and a growing difficulty in disconnecting from work as expectations for speed rise.
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